Undyne's Human
by Phouka Dragon11
Summary: Long, long ago, a human fell into the kingdom of monsters. Tattered, torn, they sought help. Running away from an obsessive, clingy goat woman, they colapse in the snow, only to be found by a very young fish monster...
1. Prologue

The dark stars twinkled in the night sky like charcoal, staring down at the forest below, uncaring and unfeeling, shining as if to say; "you can die in a ditch for all we care."

Not a whisper of wind rushed through the trees, all life asleep in the dead of night, air still and silent.

A single soul snaked through the ferns, branches raking across the already-destroyed jacket, taring more holes in the stitched mix of fabrics. Long, ragged dark brown hair flowed behind like water, tied together messily by a long red ribbon, wide silver-grey eyes tried to pierce through the darkness, however the human was navigating on touch alone.

They hacked away at the plants trying to hold them back with the only weapon they could find; a plastic, toy knife. It wasn't the ideal weapon of choice, but it was better than nothing at all. Besides, whatever plastic this toy was made of, it was suspiciously durable.

Their heart pounded hard against their chest, beating in her ears and reverberating through her other organs. Any animal could smell her fear-scent if they were close.

Running they have been for many hours now, deciding to catch their breath for now to get their strength back up. Thankfully the snow had thawed two nights before; it was easier to travel without a foot of frozen water in their way. The abundance of berries was quite high in spite of the harsh winter that had just passed, fighting to stay alive in the fresh spring climate.

If anyone was watching, they would've noticed the obvious limp the human was travelling with. A massive bump was raised on her head, swelling up in mind-numbing pain, while all the minor wounds had stopped bleeding not too long ago. However the human's face wasn't matted with only blood. The tears hadn't dried yet, despite the human having no more to cry. Their soul resonated with grieving fury, not used to having its trait violently shattered into a million little pieces.

Patience was a valuable trait, more durable than the strongest steel and stronger than any hoofed animal, however even with the greatest power, there is a limit. It has been crossed long ago. The human's patience had run out.

Family should never abuse family. Blood shouldn't spill blood. He was their father for goodness sake! A role model, a guardian... not a brutal criminal.

They had fled, and the man had chased them, however the little child was faster than the grown man, and could wriggle through small gaps adults couldn't fit in. They had a head-start thanks to that, but the little human knew the grim man's determination from their own bitter experience.

Their older brother had fled thanks to them, however the man managed to catch the little sibling before they could escape, the older brother having to leave them behind to save himself. At least he didn't have to face the abuse they were facing. The little human only hoped that he was alive and well somewhere in the big wide world.

Mt. Ebbot was somewhere humans did not go. If they could just reach the village on the other side, they should be okay for a while. Maybe they could find their brother, since they planned to escape there in the first place.

The air got thinner as the human climbed up, up, up without end. The plants weren't as interlocked as they were at the base of the mountain, so the toy knife went into the destroyed patchwork pocket. The sun began to rise into a dawn of fire, chasing away the ignorant stars that were trying to clutch onto their place in the sky before the sun convinced them to retreat back into space. The air was colder here, snow still laying around here at the top. It was still fresh, despite being early April and quite late for snow season. The human smiled faintly as they listened to the crunch of the snow beneath their feet. Halfway! They were gonna make it! Their father should've given up the chase by now.

Pain pounded in their feet, harsher with every step as a stitch sliced through their body. Not long now! The top of the mountain was in sight!

With a gasp of relief, the human broke into a last dash towards the top of the mountain. Maybe they could rest there? They had been travelling for the whole night, after all.

Tiredness sagged in their aching limbs as with determination, the human pushed onwards. Their heart lifted as the ascending ended. The myths were just myths. Why was everyone so scared of...

Hang on. A massive hole gaped open in the middle of the top of the mountain like an open mouth, ready to swallow the world whole.

Blinking all the tiredness away from their eyes, the human cautiously padded up to the edge of the hole.

The darkness down there was sickening, miles down, down into certain doom. The human jumped back to avoid throwing up in their mouth. Fear of heights was awful indeed.

They turned round to walk away from the horrifying hole, however there was the shadow of a massive man there, looking down at them with beady eyes.

The little human barely had time to scream before their father pushed them back with all his might.

All the little child knew was that they were falling, down down, into the bottomless abyss of death.


	2. Chapter 1: Young Life

How could laughter sound so cold? Wet fins pressed against cold scales as the little monster hid behind the slide, away from the prying eyes.

Tears stained her scaly cheeks, hair as red as flames clinging to her face. Hugging her knees together, the little monster pressed her face to her long jeans and let her tears soak through the material.

The distant laughter of the others was echoing around the playground, bouncing back and forth, as if the playground itself was laughing at her. They called her name, but the little monster was smart enough not to come at the call.

"Undyne! Oh Undyne! Come out! We don't want to hurt you!"

Those words rang in her head, so the distressed Sea Wraith pressed her webbed hands to her finned ears. At least that drowned out the taunting a little.

Suddenly she felt herself being grabbed by the shoulders and flung over the slide. She yelped as she crashed into the snow back first. Before she could pick herself back up, snow was kicked in her face, getting into her beautiful golden eyes. More laughing.

That laughing. It was what made things so bad.

Pain seared through her shoulder as someone kicked her at full force, her tear-ridden cry causing the laughter to grow.

Suddenly the kids scattered, the cold laughter dying to silence in an instant. The little monster shook the snow from her scales and hair before pushing herself up to see who had scared her tormenters away.

The massive brute of a lion monster was slowly making his way towards her, accompanied by a rather shorter, blue-hooded skeleton.

"Are you okay small one?" The mighty lion asked, voice booming louder than any of the laughter the kids managed. Undyne gasped when she realised that the Captain of the Royal Guard was talking to her. His mane was mighty, the warm amber eyes friendly.

"I-I'm fine!" Undyne insisted, a bright blush of embarrassment glowing on her face that she had shown weakness in front of her hero. "I'm all fine I'm-"

"Your denials are a little _fishy_ kid," said the skeleton, lowering his hood and blinking to get his white pinprick eyes back visible in their sockets. "Some kids can be cruel. I'm telling you, if my little brother had seen this, he would've given those kids a stern talking to."

The little Sea Wraith's thoughts drifted to the young skeleton that sat way in the front in her class, one that was very popular due to his kindness and reputation of doing homework in exchange for absolutely nothing. The whole school knew the name of Papyrus the Skeleton.

"Listen little one," the Lion Warrior knelt beside her and helped her to stand. "You need to tell someone about those kids. They'll stop once you tell your teacher."

She nodded, her eyes flicking from the Captain of the Royal Guard to the sentry and back again. Their smiles were comforting, care in their eyes that somehow managed to make the little Sea Wraith calm a little.

"Now go on," the hero gestured towards the school. "Your lunchtime's over."

The little fish nodded and turned back to run to the school building. She would tell someone, just like her hero told her to do so.

* * *

The little child slowly dared to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was the terrifying silhouette of her father before she blacked out, however it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

She had fallen.

She became aware of the pain only a few moments after her silver eyes were open and staring up at the distant light up, up many miles, so far away that the light was only a mere white speck in the distance. However the pain came from her head bump and her leg wound. Surprisingly, she had taken no fall damage. Her organs were still functioning- they should've been shattered when she hit the ground!

Groaning, the little human pressed her hand to her forehead to mute the pain a little while she sat up. Her blue soul hadn't taken any damage than it already has, so that was at least good.

It was at that moment that she realised the pillars surrounding the vertical tunnels. They were ancient! Like ones the humans built in Ancient Greece, some crumbled away by time, some still held strong. The sunlight that managed to seep in through the distant hole far, far above bounced off the deep purple marble. Ruins.

The yellow flowers she had landed on had somehow stopped her fall, reaching up to whatever sunlight they could reach. It was incredibly lucky that she had fallen on these flowers that could save anyone from a potentially lethal fall. And the human thanked the plants for that.

Where were she? Was she dead? Or was she in hell? Some people believed in that sort of thing, but this human had suffered so much that sometimes she couldn't tell what was real or what was fake.

Then the truth broke upon her. Her brother would be looking for her! She had promised him that she would find him someday, and she couldn't do that down here! Raising her eyes up to the hole in the surface, her heart sagged. Climbing wasn't her thing, nor was extensive determination- her father's key trait- which would've been handy in a situation like this.

Footsteps echoed through the ruins, gradually getting louder, and louder, and louder, even louder as they neared. The human snapped her head towards the sound, for the first time noticing the dark corridor, which coincidentally was the only way out. And the footsteps were coming from that direction.

Quickly scrambling to her feet, the child fiddled in her pockets and drew the small plastic knife, brandishing it like a sword or a lance- a much more valuable weapon. Whatever was coming towards her, it would learn that she wouldn't go down without a fight.

From the depths of the darkness, emerged a huge white figure, her lovely lilac dress billowing in the non-existent breeze. Beautiful maroon eyes reflected their reflection so clear as if they were mirrors themselves. However it wasn't any sort of creature this human had encountered before.

The white fur covered this creature from head to toe, so white it could make the snow above look grey. Long ears rested on her shoulders, making way for two goat horns to prick outwards, like the horns of a devil. Despite her sudden appearance, she looked kind and warm. There was recognition in her eyes as they set upon the human. They seemed to smile, however there was something tortured too, as if this creature felt sorry for this human without even knowing them. She blinked in comfort and began to speak.

"Hello my child," she greeted the fallen human gently. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Toriel, and please-" she noticed the weapon in the tiny human's hands. "Put your weapon down, I mean no harm."

Skeptically, the little human straightened from a battle position and pocketed the knife once more. _If this creature wanted to kill me, she would've done it already_ she thought to herself.

"Everyday I come here to see if any humans have fallen down," Toriel explained, taking small steps forward as if the human child was an untameable beast and not the other way around. "You are the first in quite a while."

Finally our human protagonist had found her voice. "Wait, have other humans fallen down?" If this goat-lady came here every day to see if anyone had fallen, that must happen a lot more often than whatnot. That's why everyone who climbed up the mountain never returned. They fell down here.

"It does happen quite a lot," she agreed with a slight nod. "My goodness, you're hurt my child!"

Without any more hesitation, Toriel rushed towards the human and knelt down to her level. Her massive paws began to glow in a bright green magic.

A tingly, cold sensation flowed through the human's body, focusing on the massive wound in her leg and on her head and even the minor scratches on her arms. Like brain-freeze, but through her entire body. The cold went away as suddenly as it started, but took all the pain away.

Inspecting herself, the human realised that her bruises and scratches have disappeared, so has the massive bump on her head and the long bleeding gash on her leg. It was all gone, as if the human had never been harmed at all in the first place.

"How... did you do that?" she managed to croak out, lifting her gaze to look the goat lady in the face. Toriel smiled widely.

"Monsters have magic my child," she explained. "Now come along, we have far to travel."

Without another word, Toriel took the human's small hand in her paw and began to lead her through the dark and dingy corridor.

A mother...? The human had lost her mother a long time ago and, as far as she was concerned, her brother was the only family she had left.

"Where are we going?" she asked, having to pick her pace up to keep in time with Toriel's pace of walking.

The goat woman smiled back. "You'll see."

* * *

"Were those kids bullying you again?"

Undyne raised her brilliant golden gaze to look the skeleton in the face.

She was waiting outside the headmaster's office to talk about her situation. Unfortunately he was leading a long, long meeting and Undyne had to wait until after school to speak with him. Even now, he was unavailable, so Undyne waited patiently, taking the great Captain's, Lionheart's, words to heart.

The skeleton boy known as Papyrus had never spoken to her before, always swarmed by herds of monster children who wanted help with their homework or just some advice. Papyrus was probably the most gifted child in the school, however everyone knew that he always tried too much.

"No, I just..." Undyne struggled to figure out an excuse to avoid telling the most popular boy in the school her suffering. "I was just wanting to see the headmaster about some homework."

"You can always talk to me about that!" Papyrus exclaimed profoundly, sitting down beside her on the bench she was sitting on. "I'll help anyone!"

"Even a human?" Undyne lifted an eyebrow.

"If they happened to be hurt," the skeleton boy nodded, reassuring himself. "Yep! I'd help anyone! Nyeh heh heh!"

Undyne's mouth lifted slightly at the corners as her classmate puffed out his chest and ran his bony hand across his head as if his bone fingers were combing through wonderfully long hair. "Anyways, what homework are you stuck on? I'll help you."

Poor, naive Papyrus. He really hadn't caught only to her lie yet? No wonder he could be played into someone's hands so easily, like a helpless piece of prey.

Thankfully the door to the headmaster's office swung open, and the old creaking voice rippled from the inside.

"You wanted to see me Undyne?"

"I'll see you later Papyrus," Undyne gladly took this opportunity to get away from confessing her lie. She stood up and, turning to wave back at the cheerfully smiling Papyrus, walked into the headmaster's office and shut the door behind her.

* * *

"What is your name my child?"

The human sat down at the table obediently, letting down her long silky hair over her shoulders to warm her neck against the cold in the underground. She hesitated. Toriel revealed her name, and took her into a safe home for the time being. She could be trusted.

"My name is Tess," the human girl introduced herself, shuffling to get herself comfortable. "Tess Ashby."

Toriel smiled warmly and placed a plate on the table in front of her, the hot butterscotch-cinnamon pie slice steaming, fresh out of the oven. The human girl's mouth watered. She was used to being starved, but seriously, when had she last eaten?

Tess hungrily dug into the pie, wolfing down the food, because quite literally this was the first meal she had in ages. To Toriel's amusement, this child was asking for more in less than a few minutes.

She was hungry alright.

"You have to get to bed," Toriel stated sternly after Tess had finished her eighth portion. "I'm sure you are extremely tired."

Tess nodded her head and placed her toy knife and bright red ribbon on the table as she got up to follow Toriel to her temporary room.

What a nice goat lady. Hopefully she would show her the way out so she could meet with her brother again.

He must be so worried! Tess calmed herself that she would see him again, no matter how much of her patience it took.


	3. Chapter 2: Escape From Dreemurr

Oh my, thank you all for all the support you've given me and this story so far. Reviews are greatly appreciated!

* * *

The night was cosier than most, the little tidy house in the ruins making a terrific job of keeping the harsh underground air out. Tess hadn't slept that well in god knew how many years. All this time she had slept with one eye open in weary of her father, who more than often came home drunk, as he did for many years now.

It was horrifying what alcoholism could do to a person. From a nice, little-overprotective father rose a possessive family-beater.

Thankfully at least she had left him behind. She just couldn't wait when she would return to the surface and find her big brother. He must worried sick!

That night, she had slept so hard that no dreams came, no nightmares, no dreams. Thank goodness for that.

Toriel was there when she woke up, working away in the kitchen while humming a catchy tune under her breath. Tess yawned silently and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she trudged into the warm kitchen, lured into by the smell of tasty food the friendly monster was preparing.

"Good morning my child," she greeted the human girl warmly, giving her a fond look. "Slept well?"

"Like a stone!" Tess confirmed with a vigorous nod of her head. "What are you preparing?"

"I was meaning to ask you child," Toriel took a break from kneading a hard-looking dough to look Tess straight in the eyes. "What is your preference, cinnamon or butterscotch?"

"Butterscotch, definitely," replied Tess, finding her red ribbon and tied up her long hair in a loose ponytail all while taking her patchwork jacket off the hook and pulling it on. Her hands stuffed into the pockets, only to pull out a little MP3 with earphones.

Her gaze was fixed on the MP3 for a few moments in desperate longing. This was her brother's... before all this happened. A few small tears formed in her dazzling grey eyes, forming but never falling.

He was counting on her. She had to find him.

Quickly stuffing the MP3 back into her pocket, Tess looked up to see Toriel serve brilliant golden-brown pastries that smelled... mm... delicious...

Without hesitation, Tess sat down once again at the table and dug in eagerly, feeling the pastries crunch between her teeth and the soft filling melt in her mouth. Good food! Such good food, when was the last time she had eaten such luxuries? Toriel chuckled as Tess reached out for another one, and turned away to wash the dishes. What a nice monster.

The Froggits and Whimsuns outside were above friendly, and she'd even managed to have a friendly conversation with the local spiders, for no charge at all! She had scraped what little money she had to pay for a little spider donut, which now sat comfortably in her other pocket. It wasn't if she was ever gonna eat it, the sign had said 'of spiders' after all.

It was nice here, but of course Tess couldn't stay here forever. She had a brother! She needed to see him again! She had promised him that she would find him one day. Tess never broke her promises.

"Umm, miss Toriel," Tess began after she had finished the last butterscotch pastry. "Will you show me the way back home?"

Toriel looked at her like a dog looks at a high-pitched noise, clearly not expecting that question. "But my child... this is your home!"

Tess' smile instantly faded. "This isn't my home!" she objected, a little harsher than she had intended. "I belong on the surface! I need to return to my brother, he must be worried sick!"

Toriel refused to answer, lowering her head and getting on with washing the dirty dishes. Tess bit her lip and stood to her feet. "Listen miss Toriel," she tried to explain. "I thank you for all that you've done for me, but I really can't stay here. I made a promise and-"

"No," Toriel finally spoke. There was a darker tone lacing her voice now, low growls punctuating every word. "You cannot leave the ruins. If you do, they will kill you. He will kill you. Please my child-" she turned to face her, and Tess could see that the woman had tears in her eyes. "You will have a good life here. There are so many books that I want to share, and... and..." her voice trailed off, and the goat shook the sad look off her face. "No. You can't leave, and you won't."

Tess stumbled back, lost for any words. Bile rose in her throat. How could she? How dare she?

Toriel was just like her father.

Tess was a prisoner. So what if the food here was great? So what if Toriel didn't harm her? So what if it was nice here? She was held there against her will. This prison was just better disguised.

In her father's house, she felt like a prisoner. In Toriel's house, she now felt like a prisoner too.

Suddenly Tess broke into a sprint away from the room, darting towards the one place where Toriel never let her venture.

The basement. The exit had to be there!

"Go to your room!" Toriel shrieked in panic, giving chase. However Tess had experience running away, and she escaped Toriel's paws in the nick of time.

The plastic knife was left behind, probably dropped somewhere, so now Tess was weaponless. She had to flee. Fast.

Footsteps thundered downstairs, just like a racing heartbeat. The human ran on, aware of Toriel sprinting behind her.

All friendliness faded from her, replaced by horrified obsessiveness. She really was a monster.

Suddenly a ball of fire skimmed past her head, missing by mere millimetres, and there was a smell of burnt hair.

Did... did that goat just breathe fire?

"Child I don't want to hurt you!" Toriel cried desperately as they both ran through the dark, dark corridor. "Come back!"

However Tess wasn't listening. Fear had taken over her entire body, the instinct pounding in her chest. She needed to get away from her. Away from everyone that wanted her to stay. She had no patience for them, no matter how strong her soul was.

Another ball of fire was tossed at her, and Tess had to lean away to avoid being scored by a direct hit. However she lost her footing and fell hard on her knees.

The skin scraped off, the knees were now bright red. Now that was gonna make it harder to flee. The human girl grit her teeth. She had fled with a honking leg wound before; this was nothing compared to her past.

Toriel was drawing near, and fast. Tess gasped for air and picked herself back up and began to run again. The stitch had returned to her side, slowing her down.

No, she couldn't slow down. The monster was coming! Coming closer. So close that she could feel her warm breath on her neck...

Toriel reached out a paw and grabbed the ponytail that waved behind her. Thankfully Tess wasn't that good a hairdresser, and the red ribbon became undone in Toriel's hands, allowing Tess to escape and push her speed faster. The ribbon had to be left behind, it was an inanimate object, after all.

The door was now visible. Tess almost tripped with relief again, running onward steadily.

The massive purple door was easy to force open, and without any hesitation or glances back, Tess threw herself outside, slamming the door behind her.

Pressing her back against the door, Tess waited for the monster chasing her to bust the door open.

However it never came.

A minute passed, two minutes passed, three, five, ten...

Tess managed to calm down during that time, mouth gaped open to empty and fill her lungs with the air that she was had to pant to receive. Looks like Toriel had given up the chase and let her be. At least she was more reasonable than her father.

Now what? Tess lifted her gaze up and into the great beyond. The dark room was venomous, hiding another door, a single yellow flower growing in the centre. My... the underground was scary.

Tess closed her eyes. For a moment she was back on the surface, happy with her brother and away from her abusive father. Where the sun shined and the birds sang cheerfully, where hope was found almost everywhere. That was the brilliant surface, and down here was quite literally hell.

Reopening her eyes, Tess steadied herself and stood to her full height. However something was off.

The yellow flower was gone.

Maybe she was hallucinating from the chase? She had seen those flowers, they were responsible for saving her life. She had already marked them as a symbol of hope, since those flowers needed a lot of sunlight to live.

Shaking her head, Tess Ashby walked on towards the door. For that moment, she felt light, like nobody could tell her what to do. And she would go on that way, she just had to have patience.

* * *

If anyone had followed the running footprints in the snow, they would lead to the distressed sea monster, running far, far away from her school.

The headmaster had done nothing! Nothing at all! The bullying continued, even harsher than before.

The lunchtime had just begun, so the school wouldn't search for her for at least an hour. She had time to clear her mind, besides, she didn't want to spend her lunchtime being beat up and called names.

It was the sentries' day off, so nobody would see her. Perfect.

She trudged on, feet crunching the well-trodden snow. Only sentries walked here, and in this day no living soul stirred, not able to bother her if she wasn't there.

Suddenly her golden eyes set onto a shape in the snow. It was certainly not a snow dog, because it had colours other than white. And it was too large to be anything else. It certainly wasn't there before.

Undyne wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve and cautiously made her way towards the shape, curiosity biting hard at her scales just like the harsh cold air around. Her breaths came out in white water vapours that looked like the breath of a dragon.

It was then that Undyne noticed the same type of water vapour coming from the snow-covered lump. It was shaking.

That wasn't just some winter plant. It was a living thing, hypothermia slowly catching it and taking its life.

"Hang on mister!" Undyne called, realising that someone was on the brink of death. Forgetting all about her bullies, her school and the reason why she had come out here in the first place, Undyne bounded through the snow and to the frozen lump. Her webbed hands shook off the snow that had covered the creature. It had no fur, but Undyne's webbed hands managed to grip onto the cold skin. Her muscles worked under her scales as she dragged the frozen creature out of the deep snow. It was then that Undyne realised the horrifying fact that it wasn't a monster after all.

It was a human. A real-live human being.

Many thoughts raced through Undyne's head for that second. They were the ones who trapped them down here in the first place. King Asgore had stated that if any human was found, they should be killed immediately and their soul taken to the king.

Undyne had never seen a real human up close, but she's learned all about them in class. Their physical forms were more powerful than a monster's mere magical being, that's the only thing Undyne could think of right now. This human in her arms was her enemy.

The little human shivered and pressed herself towards Undyne's warm body, drinking in the warmth. Her eyes were still closed, and the subconscious instinct was telling her to cling onto the little heat she had found.

Undyne found her heart soften, and a thought rose to the front of her mind. She couldn't just leave this person to die out in the snow, human or not.

"I won't let you die human," Undyne whispered and lifted the human person bridal-style out of the snow. "I know a place where you can warm up."

Despite her size and age, Undyne was a strong monster, able to lift up boulders over twice her size even at a small age like this. She carried her finding down the familiar path, never as grateful as now that the sentries had the day off. It was incredibly lucky, and Undyne wasn't about to complain.

She had reached the river in a matter of moments, and bit her lip when the person she was looking for wasn't there. Cursing under her breath, Undyne clenched the human closer to her chest and tapped her foot three times on the ground.

"Arise and come to me!" Undyne bellowed, so that her voice bounced off the water and echoed many times. The human in her arms flinched at her voice, subconsciously pressing herself closer to Undyne and away from any harm.

Were humans really that weak?

Suddenly a boat crashed out from the depths of the river, head of a mighty wooden cat almost sentient as it roared its arrival. The spray of water showered Undyne as the boat crashed down onto the surface. The hooded creature on the boat turned its head towards her, expressionless.

"Undyne the Undying..." hissed the creature as it landed the boat on the riverbank. "And a light blue human soul...? Are you heading to New Home to deliver it to the king?"

That thought had crossed Undyne's mind a lot of times. The king needed human souls to shatter the barrier, and it would be easier just to deliver her to the king. The bullying would stop and Undyne would be known as a hero.

But the helplessness of the human made Undyne realise that this would be a bad idea. She wasn't a fool, and she realised what happened to any human that was delivered to the king. Taking their soul would mean having to kill them.

"No, take me to Waterfall," Undyne ordered, stubbornly stepping onto the boat. The hooded figure turned its head 180 degrees to see behind it at Undyne. A normal neck should not do that without snapping, and to any newcomer it would've been a terrifying sight to watch, however Undyne and other monsters were perfectly used to the river person's habits.

"A schoolchild like you should be in school, not running around with frozen humans," the hooded river person said indignantly, appalled at the way the young child was speaking to it. "Either go to the king, or go back to school."

Undyne drew her lips back into a snarl, showing off her many sharp teeth. "You work for free, you take anyone anywhere. Take me to waterfall."

The river person spun its neck back the right way and pushed off the riverbank. "As you wish, Undyne the Undying... but you do know," it spoke quietly, creepily, a voice that seemed to shatter Undyne's white monster soul itself. "Humans are hunted by all the monsters. We need to be free, and this one will contribute one of the seven souls needed."

"Oh shut up," Undyne snapped, partially regretting her choice to travel by the river person's boat. The surrounding caves were now a blur with the speed that they were travelling at. "Promise you won't tell anyone about what you've seen here."

"Very well, Undyne the Undying..." echoed the person, a bony hand stroking the head of the boat tenderly, its precious little thing. "I will not say a word about your finding or this human being if that is what you wish."

Undyne held the human even closer. Despite not liking the river person much, Undyne knew that it always kept to its promises, even if it was something extreme like finding a human. No doubt the river person knew everyone's secrets, just kept them to itself, and that was great quality to have.

"But do tell me," the river person spun its head round to look behind it again. "What are you planning to do with the human child?"

Undyne shivered as she realised that she did not yet have an answer to that question. "I'll figure that out soon enough," she promised as the boat docked to the side in the dark and dingy waterfall. "Thanks for the ride mister."

"All the pleasure is on my side, Undyne the Undying..." the river person bowed low and stroked the wooden cat's head with a black hand. "And when the little human wakes up, give it my best wishes."

Undyne nodded her head and stepped on the boat to the swampland. Her house was not too far from here. She should make it no problem.

Just what would this new discovery bring her?


	4. Chapter 3: First Meeting

This chapter had a lot of exposition and dialogue, I promise there'll be more action in further chapters! Again, reviews and feedbacks are greatly appreciated!

* * *

Tess's eyelids flickered. The warmth surprised her, she had passed out in the snow for all she remembered.

Where was she now? Shouldn't've hypothermia had killed her?

The soft covers were warm, the bed soft. Tess opened her silver eyes a crack, and the blue room revealed itself to her. Where was she?

"Finally you're awake," said a soft voice. Tess raised her gaze to see who had spoken.

The blue creature had fish-like scales covering her entire body, scarlet hair tied in a tight ponytail against her head. Her brilliant golden eyes had vertical cat-like slits that stared onwards in curiosity. Tess gasped in panic and sat bolt upright as if electrified.

Another monster? Did it want to imprison her too?

"Who are you?!" Tess demanded, shuffling to get away from the monster who stared at her curiously.

"That's not how you greet someone punk," the monster scolded her, a little hurt at Tess' outbreak. "Aren't you glad that I got you out of the snow?"

Tess instantly calmed down. " _You_ saved my life?"

The monster girl shrugged her shoulders matter-of-factly. "You're lucky it's me who found you, human, and not a sentry," she told Tess. "They would've killed a human like you on the spot."

Tess' thoughts drifted to what Toriel had said to her before she had escaped- something about how the others would kill her... but this monster didn't lay a claw on her. Why had she lied?

This monster's character was innocent, gentle... she was just a child, like her. Grey human eyes met yellow monster eyes, and for that moment, the human and the monster shared a special connection- as if destiny had meant for them to meet all along.

"So," the monster broke the silence first. "I know your name probably isn't 'human', so unless you want me to call you that, maybe you should tell me what a should call you?"

Tess got over her shock and steadied herself. "My name's Tess. Tess Ashby. And who are you?"

"My name's Undyne the Undying," the monster introduced herself proudly, puffing out her chest in pride. "But you can just call me Undyne."

Undyne? Monster names were peculiar, but so cool. Tess trusted herself to sit at the edge of the bed, next to where Undyne was sitting. The fish gave a massive toothy smile, showing off her killer teeth.

"I've brought you food," the little monster girl offered, standing up to exit the blue-wallpapered room into what looked like a kitchen. Wow, monsters were more like humans that Tess initially thought. "I didn't know if you human eat the same stuff as monsters, but I gave it my best."

She returned with a bowl of steaming red tomato soup. The smell was delicious... and Tess found her mouth watering. Why was it that monster food was much better than human food?

"I made it myself!" Undyne pronounced proudly, handing Tess the bowl and spoon she was carrying. "Those vegetables never knew what hit them! Fu-hu-hu!" She laughed, partly at herself, partly at the soup. "It's so healthy, you'll be almost as strong as I am!"

Tess snickered with her, taking a small sip of soup. It was tasty, but it was hard to tell the taste from its burning heat. Her tongue jumped in pain as Tess quickly swallowed as to avoid all her tastebuds being burnt of by the scalding heat of the soup.

"This is really good," Tess managed to stammered with her burnt tongue. "Just a little hot..."

"The heat represents my passion!" Undyne told her. "Burning heat of my power!" She flexed her biceps. "Fu-hu-hu-hu!"

Tess smiled as she took another spoonful of tomato soup, getting used to the high temperature steadily. Undyne sat down beside her again and watched her eat. "So I was right, humans do eat soup."

The human girl nodded her head and continued to eat, highly doubting she would ever taste anything ever again. Suddenly another thought crossed her mind.

What about this monster kid's parents? Wouldn't they kill her?

"Where are your parents?" she asked, hoping Undyne wouldn't take any offence to her question.

Fortunately Undyne kept everything cool. "My mum ran off with my uncle and my dad tried to stab 'em both," she explained, calmer than she ever should've been saying things like that. "My dad's now in jail and I've never seen my mum since. At least I'm keeping the ol' place in shape."

Tess blinked twice, not able to understand why Undyne was being so relaxed about an awful thing like parental issues. Maybe Tess was too obsessed with her yesterday and not moved on like Undyne? She tried to smile and put the soup down.

"My parents weren't great either," she told Undyne. It seemed so strange saying it out loud, something Tess had never done before. It was strangely easy, after keeping it bottled up for so long. "My dad was a crippling alcoholic and one night he beat my mum to death. My brother managed to escape before me, and now I've escaped too, but I've... accidentally fell down here."

Undyne gave her a wide smile, her fangs sharp. "Wow, we're like the screwed-up-parents gang. What was your brother's name?"

Tess began to remember, her hand sliding into her jacket pocket to feel the little music device. "His name was Ben, Ben Ashby. He's older than me by three years. I've made him a promise." She gave a nostalgic sigh. "I promised that I would find him someday." Her face brightened. "Do you know how to exit the underground?"

Undyne's happy expression faded at her question. "The barrier can't be crossed," Undyne explained simply. "Everybody can enter, but nobody can exit. It's said only a human soul and a monster soul can cross the barrier, and seven human souls equal the power to shatter the barrier."

Tess dropped her eye to the ground, a little guilty that she'd asked Undyne that question. What was she gonna do now? She pulled out the MP3 from her pocket and put the headphone into the jack while Undyne watched.

"What are you doing?" the fish wanted to know. "I've never seen a device like that! What is it?"

Tess offered her one earbud. "It was my brother's. It plays good music. I've got nice music, you want to hear some?"

Undyne hesitantly took the earbud and stared at it for a while. "What am I meant to do with this?"

"This? You put it in your ear," Tess instructed, demonstrating by putting a white earbud in her left ear. "Then you can listen to it."

Undyne gave her a look, but put the earbud into her right, finned ear. "Now what punk? I look like an idiot."

Tess put on the device and started to scroll through the music library. "What one do you want?"

Undyne looked at the names of the songs that scrolled through, not able to decide between the twinkling names. Eventually her finger pointed to a song with a really cool name.

 _Bohemian Rapsody by Queen_

"What does that one sound like?" she asked curiously, yellow eyes darting from the little MP3 to Tess and back again.

Tess smiled gladly that Undyne had chosen this vintage classic. "That's one of my favourites," she told Undyne simply and pressed play.

Undyne's face went from confused to dazzled as the song started to play. "What is this? Why is it so beautiful?"

Tess chuckled and went quiet to let them listen to the human song. Undyne clung onto the earbud, listening eagerly and staring into blank space. Her fins perked up as the song changed multiple times.

As the song ended, Undyne looked to Tess with wide eyes. "Your human technology is amazing!" she complemented sweetly. "How many songs do you have on here?"

"Thirty," replied Tess, grateful that someone at least liked her song collection. "Undyne, if I can't go through the barrier, what am I gonna do?"

Undyne snapped out of her daze and look Tess in the face worriedly. "We'll wait! Asgore needs seven human souls to shatter the barrier! He'll do it eventually, and then we'll break free together!"

Tess' heart lifted. She could wait forever, and that wasn't too bad. "How many has he gotten now?"

"Five!" Undyne answered cheerfully. "Only two more!"

"I can do that wait," Tess puffed out her chest in pride. "I'm a patient soul, I can wait forever."

The two girls chose another song and began listening.

"Hey Undyne..." Tess piped up after a moment. "Do you wanna be... like... friends?"

"Friends?" Undyne echoed, her yellow eyes looking at Tess up and down. "I've never had... a proper friend before..." She smiled wider than before. "Yeah! I can make friends with a nerd punk like you any day!" Her hands clasped on the side of her face. "We'll be besties!"

Tess and Undyne burst out into laughter, the song playing in the background.

And so this was the start of a brilliant friendship.

* * *

Tess and Undyne hung out all weekend, loving the emptiness of Waterfall. No monster came across the little swamp.

Undyne had introduced Tess to Napstablook and Mettaton, two sweet ghost cousins that worked on a snail farm next door. The human girl grew to love them both, and the ghosts seemed pretty fond of her too, even Mettaton, who found time to admire the human over his own beauty.

And then there was Undyne... who loved spending time with the human girl. She had shown the monster how to play the deserted piano left by her mother. Music... it was so great!

However from the shadows, a dark shape watched. His hood was up, and he watched from where the two young girls would not see him. His eyes were gone as he watched hour after hour, his hands in his pockets.

So another human had fallen down... how... good... They could finally be free if this one died...

The watching monster closed his eyes and remembered the faint memory of the surface. Sunshine, starlight... fresh air on his bones... Monsters lived for thousands of years, so a human's lifespan was like a butterfly's in comparison.

Sans swayed on his feet, watching as Tess and Undyne helped Mettaton and Napstablook with the snail farm. So this little brat was helpful... how cute. He had watched how five humans fell down before her and how they died at the hands of his faithful friend, Lionheart, the Captain of the Royal Guard. This time would be no different.

Monsters had to go free. Sans would kill the human himself but... he had watched how quickly Undyne had become attached to this human being, and he personally knew her very well. He'd helped her to come out of her tough situation she'd been put in by her parents.

Maybe he should tell Lionheart? He, after all, would no doubt put loyalty to the monster kingdom over personal troubles...

Sans shook himself. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea?

He'd wait and watch... see how things play out. That would be a better idea.


	5. Chapter 4: New Kid

Guess who's back, back again. Phouka's back, tell your friends. Yup, I'm updating again, and I've got the scenes all set for the next chapter so fingers crossed there won't be too much time to wait between this one and the next. Thanks a million for all the support and feedback so far! XX

* * *

Eventually Monday rolled around, and Tess helped Undyne prepare for another boring day of school.

"I don't like school," Undyne told Tess truthfully. "There's awful people there."

The human girl shrugged matter-of-factly. "There's awful people everywhere." Her eyes brightened as she brushed Undyne's long flaming red hair. "Maybe I can come to school with you?"

Undyne's white soul jumped. "They'll recognise you as human!" she objected. "They'll kill you... they'll-"

"Not if I'm with you," Tess insisted, braiding her friend's hair into a pretty french braid. "I can be a monster."

Undyne shut up at her calmness and let Tess continue to fiddle with her hair. Her webbed hands lay on the piano keys silently in thought. What monster would they insist Tess would be?

"Are you sure Tessy?" Undyne asked skeptically, beginning to press random keys on the piano. "Most of those kids will just make fun of you."

Tess made the sound of a displeased horse and finished her hairstyle. "There we go. If those bullies are anything you've told me about, I'm not letting you go to school alone ever again."

Undyne flashed her a wide smile and stood to her feet. "It's not you who protects me. It's me who'll have to protect you!" Her scaly finger poked Tess chest. "I'm big and I'm strong Tessy. You're a wimpy human and need my protection!"

Tess chuckled and turned to put on her patchwork jacket. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"No," Undyne answered truthfully. "Maybe Papyrus will."

Tess asked who Papyrus was.

"He's really nice," Undyne insisted, grasping her schoolbag off the floor. "Helps everyone with their homework." Maybe Papyrus would be friends with Tess? That would be ideal. Undyne swung the bag on her back and lead the way outside. Tess followed her eagerly, like a child stumbles after its mother.

This would be Tess' first time to go beyond the boundaries of this tiny waterfall neighbourhood and go into Snowdin. She was shaking from head to toe in nervousness, trying to not make her teeth chatter. Undyne gave her a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Don't look nervous punk! It makes you look weak!" she told her. "You've got me with you, you've got nothing to fear!"

Young Tess returned the smile, then looked past her head and waved cheerily. Undyne spun round to greet the two ghosts racing to say their goodbyes.

"No! No! You're doing it all wrong!" Mettaton tutted when he saw the lazy way Undyne had thrown on her blue jeans coat. "You're supposed to wear it with style! Not like you've just dressed yourself in the dark!"

Undyne had never liked Mettaton. He was ridiculously narcissistic and constantly needed to have the attention on himself. She had no idea how his cousin- Napstablook- even put up with him. Now Napstablook was a whole different story. He had a very close relationship with his cousin, and he was one of Undyne's closer friends- maybe even one of her best friends. He seemed to get along with Tess just fine, with was fine by Undyne.

"I'll dress however I want!" Undyne retorted, jabbing a scaly finger at his transparent body. "Besides do you like the braid I have?"

"It's marvellously gorgeous," Mettaton complemented. "It should go straight to any monster fashion magazine- and may I add it suits you quite well indeed."

That was another thing. Mettaton could go from criticism to absolute adoration in mere moments. Tess giggled quietly as Undyne calmed down.

"Uh... B...be careful Undyne..." Napstablook warned her. "W-we can't have you coming back here with bruises again... the three of us will wait-"

"Actually I'm going with Undyne," Tess cut across him.

Her decision caused both ghosts shiver their transparent bodies. Napstablook shrunk while Mettaton erupted into protest.

"But Tessy dear," he cried, pushing past Undyne to put his face closer to Tess'. "Those monsters seek to destroy you, and with your soul, humanity."

"I'm gonna be a monster," Tess replied calmly, calmer than anything Undyne would manage in that situation. "Like a furless anthropomorphic furry of some kind."

"That might work..." said Napstablook, who was too scared to go against any opinion. "Be... careful out there."

Undyne hurried Tess away before the ghosts could cause them to be late. She lead Tess by the hand down the familiar way to the river person's dock, hoping that no one else was hoping for a ride from it at this late a time. Tess jumped at every small sound, looking up at the shiny stones on the ceiling with awe and everything that moved. Jeez, it was like she'd never seen shining rocks stuck to a ceiling.

The rush of the river echoed round the halls long before the two girls reached the wide torrent of cold water. Again, the river person's absence annoyed Undyne. What if the river person was busy? That couldn't happen, she didn't want to be late- again- and cause Tess to be late too. She bit her tongue gently and stomped her foot thrice on the cold, wet ground. "Arise and come to me!" she bellowed so loudly that her voice echoed through the corridors for a while before silencing gradually.

This time it took a few moments for the boat to arrive. The long, wooden cat was bounded on the surface of the fast current as if it was hard land, the pale oakwood hardly making a sound. Its ears were flattened tightly against its head, a long oaken tail trailing behind it while the tall hooded figure rode on its back without a grip, like surfing. It turned its head towards them as its steed skidded to a halt and turned to pad gently to the shore.

Undyne smiled and turned to see Tess' reaction, who was staring at first the wooden cat, then the hooded figure and back again.

"Pretty cool huh?" Undyne whispered, glad to see Tess nod her head.

"What a... Wonderful sight..." said the river person, bowing its head lowly. "Did you give the human child my best wishes like I asked?"

Oh no. She'd forgotten! Undyne froze as she realised that the river person would take high offence to this, and perhaps not even let her on its boat.

Thankfully Tess came to her rescue. "Yes mister, Undyne gave me your best... even though I didn't who you were at the time."

What a brilliant lie. A monster with a white, weak soul would not be able to tell such a believable lie, but some monsters could weed out even the best lies like a lie detector, and Undyne prayed the river person was not one of those monsters.

"I'm... flattered," the river person bowed, taking in Tess' lie like the truth. "I assume that you're taking Light Blue Soul to your school, Undyne the Undying..." it turned its head to Undyne, so smoothly like an owl. "Have you figured out what to do with her yet?"

Undyne's flared up at that question. "She's my friend now," she spat angrily. "She'll wait with us for the barrier to be destroyed."

The river person nodded its head solemnly and moved out of the way to let Undyne hop onto the boat. She reached out a webbed hand to Tess, who put her warm, furless hand into hers and gently lowered herself onto the boat. She clung onto Undyne's clothes for balance as the boat drank from the river, its long tail hovering lightly over the water.

"Undyne, is this safe?" she whispered unsurely, eyeing the river person with great scepticism.

"Safer than travelling by foot," Undyne answered as the hooded figure ran a dark hand over the cat's neck and told it silently to go. The boat tossed its head like a horse and began to run, flinging up water behind it.

When the boat was running, it went thrice as fast, the wind howling in ears and slapping against faces. Undyne knew that the boat was always sturdy, but Tess clung onto her for dear life, her little heart pounding so hard Undyne could feel it on her back.

"Don't worry! This boat never faltered!" she yelled, however her words were whisked away by the wind. The river person also noticed the human's fear, and spun its head round to give her a look.

"This boat is safer than any seatbelt," it said calmly, its voice ringing from the inside of their heads to avoid its speech being killed by the air speed. Its words caused Tess to worry more, because spinning a head right round like in The Exorcist was frightening enough without the fact that this was the master of the sentient boat which was now running on water faster than any cheetah could ever manage.

Finally the freezing temperatures of the snow region drifted forward, which brought forth a new, cold smell for Undyne to breathe. The boat skidded to a halt, sending water flying up into the air and then pitter pattering down onto the river again. It then carried on in a happy trot towards the bank, where its legs sank below the surface and it docked successfully. Undyne hopped off clumsily and landed on the frozen ground, shortly followed by Tess, who seemed happy beyond words to be back on dry land, shaking on her feet as she marvelled standing on still ground again.

"You okay Tessy?" Undyne asked, readying herself to jump to her aid if Tess decided to faint.

The human, however sounded fine. "I just don't like fast things," she explained, steadying her voice with every syllable. "I may be a fast runner, but I don't like to go that fast."

Undyne patted her head with a webbed hand. "There, there," she said mockingly. "We're safe now, Undyne will take care of you."

Both girls giggled and began to walk away, but a strange noise drew their attention back to the river person, however the hooded person was on land, busy dipping its hand into the water. It was the boat that made the noise.

For the first time Undyne ever saw it speak in its funny language directly to someone who wasn't the river person. It opened its scary mouth full of sharp wooden teeth and meowed just like a plain housecat. It began to drag itself out of the water with its two strong oaken forelegs, digging its long claws into the frozen, snowy ground. It seemed to call them to come back, half of it still in the river.

This boat had never done this before, and Undyne knew that her reaction wasn't something Tess would find comforting. However the human was more at ease with a sentient boat than with going down a river at god knew how many miles per hour.

With a careful step, Tess stopped breathing as she walked back up to it, letting out her breath bit by bit. The boat stretched out its head to greet her, inhaling her scent through a brown nose. Undyne watched in awe as her friend hesitantly ran her hand over its head, causing it to produce a loud thunderous purr in such a low pitch it might've been a growl of an engine. It pressed its head further into her hands, closing its big black beady eyes, and Tess giggled like a little girl.

"Pretty kitty!" said she, for a moment looking as if she'd gone back in time to her toddler years. So innocent and frail and fragile... "C'mon Undyne! Its adorable!"

"You and I have a very different definition of adorable," Undyne replied, shaking her head. The boat never wanted to be pet by Undyne, quite the opposite really, so she didn't trust herself to even get near it. "C'mon Tessy, we'll be late."

Waving goodbye, Tess trotted back to her, a wide smile on her face.

Boat has been pet.

"Yay, cross petting a boat off your bucket list," Undyne said with fake enthusiasm as they walked stride by stride into the cold forest.

"Oh come on Undyne!" Tess laughed, shrugging her shoulders comically. "Loosen up, I don't see why petting Boat was such a bad thing." She reached into the pocket of her patchwork jacket and pulled out her precious music device. "What shall we listen to today?"

Undyne took the earbud and put it in her ear eagerly as Tess scrolled through the library again and put on a song, this time by a band named 'Fallout Boy'. Those band names were so glittery and so beautiful, why didn't monsters have such entertainers?

The song blared in her ear as they waltzed into the town of Snowdin, where the monster people rushed about their day as it was very early in the morning and people were rushing to get to their jobs and school. Undyne took Tess by the hand in fear of loosing her through the crowd. The snow crunched beneath their feet as Undyne snaked through the rushing people, her grip tightening on Tess' hand, and the school soon came into view. Children played about in the playground, happy squeals echoing round the town.

The school building was similar to most, tall and with two storeys for classrooms and a canteen and everything a school would normally need. The office was just in the front of the school, where Tess would need to register. It wouldn't be long, Undyne hoped, and they would ask for any information like 'what breed of monster are you?' Tess insisted she would be a furless anthropomorphic furry monster, but Undyne wouldn't be convinced.

No monster payed attention to them as Undyne lead her friend to the office and pushed open the door.

"How may I help you?" asked the old monster at the desk, eyeing the new person suspiciously, as if she already knew she was a human. Undyne pulled out the earbuds out of their ears so they wouldn't appear rude. The monsters wouldn't know what that string was for anyway, so it was just a safety bet.

"I would like to register for school," Tess replied clearly, however her hand curled tightly around Undyne's seeking comfort, which Undyne was more than glad to give.

The office lady blinked and began to tap on her computer keyboard. "What is your name may I ask?"

"Tess Ashby miss," she replied.

She answered the office lady's questions as vaguely as she could, or straight up lie to cover her identity. Soon, Tess Ashby was a student at the school, no more questions asked.

"C'mon Tessy! I'll show you our class!" Undyne cheered, almost skipping with joy down the corridor as the bell rang so loudly that Undyne must've gone deaf for a split second. It wailed the school's start, then fell silent as the doors opened and let in the schoolchildren from outside. Thankfully they didn't have to snake through the crowds in front.

The classroom was normal, just as Undyne had left it a few days before. The teacher was a nice, young anthropomorphic white mouse dressed in pale violet, tapping away on her cell phone as the children poured in. Undyne lead her precious Tess to the back of the class, where they sat in a two-person desk.

The teacher got an e-mail on her phone as the students were still settling down, chattering among themselves cheerfully. She read it, and looked up at Tess in confusion of why a new kid had suddenly turned up to class.

"Morning class!" she squeaked, causing the class to settle down and hush expectantly.

"Good morning Miss Bianca," the children chorused back in unison, some eagerly, some devoid of any enthusiasm.

"Today I've been given a message that there is a new child joining our class today," Miss Bianca announced, looking Tess straight in the eye. Undyne silently warned her not to make any stupid moves. "Little one, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?"

Exchanging a worried glare with her friend, Tess stood shakily to her feet.

 _Poor human_ , Undyne thought. _She's frightened out of her skin._

It was true. Tess was shaking from head to toe as all eyes pressed on her.

It's when an unexpected situation occurs is when part of the real personality comes out. Undyne watched her, praying that she wouldn't give herself awake in her fear.

She shouldn't've worried, because after her short moment of tremor, she seemed to solidify and stand taller. Undyne couldn't put herself in her shoes. She was never a 'new kid', been there straight from day one.

"My name is Tess, Tess Ashby," she began, speaking so clearly as if delivering a presentation. "I've just recently moved into Snowdin and... I like Doritos."

Her last announcement caused a ripple of confusion to go through the crowd. What was Doritos? Some kind of sports game? However Tess bowed her head and sat back down, thankful that her brief five seconds of fame were over.

The day turned out to be pretty normal at first, Tess gaining only some attention from the class. Thankfully none of them were actually old enough to recognise a human being despite the core subject of human and monster biology in that same day.

The bell for lunchtime rang, somehow louder than before, and nobody waited for Mss Bianca to dismiss them. The classroom was empty faster than anybody could snap their fingers.

The cold harsh air was pleasing to breathe in after the stuffy, building air that lingered in the classroom.

Undyne had her head wrapped round showing Tess all her favourite bits of the playground, she didn't notice the bigger kids that bullied her coming towards them. Some of them turned and whispered at the sight of someone talking with their favourite victim. Maybe with their wits combined they could mould this newcomer into someone they needed her to be.

They decided to approach them.

"Who are you?" demanded the biggest boy, who looked Tess up and down.

Undyne's heart leapt. Oh no, he couldn't be here! He couldn't hurt her or Tess. She wouldn't let him.

"Tess," Tess replied simply. "What's your name?"

The boy clearly approved of her, because she was calm, friendly and welcoming, which was exactly the same reason Undyne highly approved of her too.

"Have you settled in okay?" he asked.

Tess nodded, calm and simple.

"Do you know the way around yet?"

She shook her head, causing her long dark hair to flow with her movement. It wasn't black like Undyne first thought, but a very dark brown that could now be seen thanks to the brightness of the snow.

"C'mon then, we'll show you around," the boy gestured his head back to the school.

Undyne's heart stopped as her mouth flopped open like a fish's. Her gaze flashed from the bullies to her friend. _She wouldn't leave her... she promised... she... promised..._

"Undyne was showing me," Tess stood her ground calmly, giving her monster friend a comforting smile.

The boy turned his eyes towards Undyne and gave her a menacing glare. "We don't need the many of us to do a tour round a school," said he, shuffling his black hair and flipping his seahorse tail. "You can stay here."

 _She's gonna leave me... She's gonna leave me behind..._

"Actually you're right, we don't need the many of us to do a tour round a school," Tess snarled simply, taking a step towards Undyne. "Undyne's my friend, so she'll be showing me around."

The seahorse and his gang weren't expecting a rejection so calm it could ease of a flaming Vulkin. However while they got off the shock pretty quick, someone ran towards them.

Undyne's heart let go of its tension in relief. The bullies would surely leave them alone in the presence of Papyrus the Skeleton. He helped with their homework- correction, did their homework- and had a reputation of being a rather large snitch, unable to hold secrets to just himself. Noticing this, the bullies left without saying goodbye, slumping off towards the shadows.

"Thanks Tessy," Undyne turned to her once they were out of earshot. "Looks like you're not as heartless as you look."

That wasn't strictly true, if anyone looked more friendly than Tess, they would be Papyrus.

"Undyne! Undyne!" called the skeleton, running over to them as fast as he could through the snow. "Undyne they didn't hurt you did they?"

"Who's that?" Tess asked, lifting a dark eyebrow as the skeleton boy neared.

"Oh him? That's the Papyrus I was telling you about," Undyne explained quickly before the zooming little ball of bones homing towards them.

"They better not've hurt you!" he panted restlessly. "Those guys are no.. match... huff... puff... for The Great and Helpful Papyrus..." He took a massive inhale into non-existent lungs. "They were frightened of me! Did you see that? Did you? Did you?"

Undyne rolled her vertical pupils. "Yes Papyrus, we saw it alright."

Papyrus straightened himself and not-so-subtly brushed himself down to make himself more appealing to look at.

"Greetings! I am The Great Papyrus!" He stuck out his massive red-gloved hand for a handshake. Tess smiled and shook his hand.

"And I'm Tess Ashby, but you probably already knew that," Tess replied, looking to Undyne. "Undyne told me a lot about you."

Papyrus looked as if he had just been notified that the barrier had been knocked down. He looked so happy as curled his red-gloved hands at his mouth and made a squealing noise of pure ecstasy.

"I feel so popular!" he squeaked in excitement. "Undyne talks about me!"

Undyne rolled her eyes again. "Hey Papyrus, why don't you hang out with us after school today?"

Somehow Papyrus looked even happier, if it was even possible. "The Great Papyrus would love to! I'll wait for you outside the school doors after school!"

Thankfully the rest of the day went by in a flash, and before any of them knew it, they were on the back of the cat boat, who seemed to take great pleasure in carrying them on its back. The River Person had told them that its boat was very fond of children, particularly human children.

Mettaton and Napstablook greeted them eagerly as they returned with wide smiles on their faces.

As soon as they've dumped their school stuff at the lifeless dummy, they ran out to the snail farm to play. Hours went by with snail races, games of tag and a few million rounds of hide-and-seek.

Eventually Undyne and Tess agreed within themselves that Papyrus should be let onto Tess' secret. He was a sweet, young boy that could be trusted. He was their friend.

"You're not a furless anthropomorphic furry monster?" Papyrus gasped in disbelief. "Tell me, what's it like being human?"

Another stone fell off of Undyne's heart. Thankfully Papyrus wouldn't take Tess' horrific the wrong way, and the other two made him promise to take it to his grave. Papyrus assured them that The Great Papyrus always kept his promises.

* * *

"Sans I'm home!"

Sans looked up from his position on the couch. He had been home late from his sentry duty, mainly because he didn't wake up at his designed time and overslept half an hour. And still, Papyrus had not been home. Thankfully he had left a note to tell him that he was hanging out with Undyne the Undying and someone called 'Tess Ashby'. Who in the world was Tess Ashby? Could it be...?

Sans sat up as Papyrus jumped and sat next to him. He looked so much like their mother... who had died giving birth to him. Thanks to her death, their father- the most brilliant Royal Scientist there was in the whole underground, had become distant and wrapped up in his own work, leaving Sans to care for everything at home. "You're the man of the house now" he had said to a young teenage Sans- back when they've first been sealed under the ground.

"Hey Paps," Sans greeted him, couldn't help noticing how happy his younger brother was. "How was school?" He didn't want to ask about school, he wanted to ask about this strange 'Tess Ashby' he had mentioned in his note, but he felt as if he needed to be gentle and polite with him.

"School was great!" Papyrus replied excitedly, his papyrus-font voice chattering away in euphoria. "I'm in a group presentation with Undyne and Tessy!"

There was that name again. Sans could only assume that this 'Tess' was the name of the human he'd seen with Undyne and the two ghost cousins, but how could he be sure? Could the human be as stupid as to reveal their true identity as a human to everyone by going to a school full of monsters out for revenge against humanity? Maybe this 'Tess Ashby' was just a newcomer from the city? There were more and more monsters moving into Snowdin from New Home lately, due to severe overpopulation.

Sans shrugged. "How was it?"

Papyrus stood up, for he could not sit in one place for too long. "It was perfect!" He skipped into the kitchen, temporarily out of Sans' sight, but the bigger skeleton was too lazy to get up and see what he was up to. "We work together so perfectly! We're the dream team!"

If there was a good time to ask about this mysterious new friend of Papyrus', it was now. "What about that new name, Tess? I haven't heard of her before."

Papyrus' noise clattering in the kitchen paused for a moment, and Sans could hear that he was muttering something to himself under his breath, though he couldn't hear what.

"She's a furless anthropomorphic furry monster," he replied quickly after his brief moment of hesitance. "She's very nice!"

Papyrus was good at many things, however lying was not one of them. Or maybe Sans was one of those monsters who knew how to weed out lies between dialogue. Either way, Papyrus was lying.

"That's great," Sans shrugged. Now he had sure that the human's name was Tess Ashby.

However that meant Papyrus was now introduced to that human...

Sans knew that Papyrus would take even less time to grow attached to a friend than Undyne took to become the human's friend. And in that case, it meant trouble.

How could his own brother be friends with his sworn enemy?

"Sans are you okay?" Papyrus asked, noticing that Sans had no puns and nothing witty to say over his worry about the human. "You're less bouncy than usual."

'Bouncy' wouldn't be a word Sans would use to describe himself with, but then again, Papyrus had an entirely different perception of how the world looked than he did. Papyrus barely remembered the surface world- since he was barely fourteen months old when the war broke out- while Sans' head was littered with bittersweet memories of the sun, the stars and the moon.

"Chill Papyrus, I was just thinking," he assured his little brother. "There's more knocking around in here than meets the eyesocket." He knocked his bony fist against his hard scull.

Papyrus sighed loudly as he took out a box of sprinkles from the kitchen and dumped it on the rock that sat on their plate. "Here you go Mr. Rocky. Sans, you should really take him out on a walk someday."


	6. Chapter 5: Skeleton Trio

Many weeks passed, arguments and make-ups stretching and forming this forbidden friendship.

It was a particularly cold day in Snowdin town, the snow fresh after the night's blizzard, the air crisp and fresh to breathe in. The school bell rang, announcing the schoolday's end to the many pleased students who leaked out of the building in massive waves.

Papyrus, Undyne and Tess were as usual the first to burst out, excitement leaking out of them like water out of a tap. It was considered a good schoolday, since Undyne had gotten two new scars on her arm which she didn't know where she had gotten them from.

Snow was kicked up as they ran across the playground and towards the town centre, where they usually hung out. What plans they had for that afternoon.

There was not another place Tess wanted to be right now. Oh if only her brother were here! Then things would be perfect. But in the meantime, how lucky she was to have such great friends.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Undyne bellowed, beginning to sprint towards the town centre across the massive heaps of snow. Papyrus and Tess bounded after her, chattering and cheering.

"Papyrus!" called a third, unfamiliar voice to her. Papyrus was so startled by someone calling his name that he tripped, causing Tess to run into him and fall with him into the cold snow. Undyne ran up to them, laughing loudly at their clumsiness. Tess laughed too, shaking the snow from her long hair and patchwork jacket, until she realised that Papyrus wasn't laughing in his usually chattering voice.

"Is something wrong Papyrus?" Tess asked innocently, gesturing at Undyne to calm down her euphoria. Papyrus looked up at her with his beady black eyes, and smiled widely.

"No! My dad's just here," said Papyrus, pointing to a dark figure in the distance.

Tess raised her silver eyes to look up. Surely, there was a black-cloaked figure in the distance, making its way towards them. It contrasted the white snow and bright nature of the town greatly, so it could be seen miles away. Undyne stepped up to stand beside her, her vertical pupils thinning threateningly. Giving her a questioning look, Tess raised a single thin dark eyebrow and asked why she was acting the way she was. Undyne flipped her tight ponytail back and behind her fins.

"Dr. Gaster's the royal scientist Tessy," she explained briefly with a gnash of her teeth. "He experiments on human souls."

"Undyne! My dad doesn't kill humans!" Papyrus snapped, getting defensive of his blood while brushing snow off his scarlet scarf.

A chill went down Tess' spine as if snow had gotten behind her clothes. Now that she looked, this so-called Gaster's movements were too smooth, unnatural, as if he made no effort, used no muscles, used no energy. The longer Tess looked, the scarier this black creature got.

"Papyrus, you never told me you had such friends?" The monster's voice deep, masculine and emotionless. Even Papyrus shivered at his sight. There was no possible way that this tall, threatening figure was related to someone so sweet like Papyrus. "Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Undyne took to talking, taking Tess' silence as a sign of letting her speak. "The name's Undyne, and that over there is our number three side chick Tessy."

The skeleton was so close now that you could see every detail of his bone and even a scratch on the side of his face which bled both blood and bone marrow, his black cloak billowing in the breeze. He had the same shape of face as Papyrus, long and thin. Now that Tess looked, Papyrus was a less threatening, younger version of Gaster, so it was biologically possible for them to be related.

A frail greeting managed to slip past her tight throat, which caused Papyrus' father to turn his face towards her. It smiled briefly before it fell in surprised realisation, then morphed into the embodiment of rage.

Gaster's eyes flared a deep purple, then toned down to mere embers. Pinpricks, barely visible, yet creepier. Tess froze for that moment, not able to move any of her limbs. Then her heart began to pound heavily against her chest. She had faced monsters before, but none had shown pure antagonism towards her. Even Toriel was friendly at first before she became obsessive and overprotective.

Undyne noticed Gaster's inhuman expression, and stood protectively in front of Tess, flattening her fins against her scaly head. Seeing this, Gaster forced himself to relax and put on another smile, but this time it was fake, devoid of any feeling.

"I have never seen a human child attend an underground school," he remarked, however there was still that tone of hate in his voice. "How... peculiar..."

The human girl wasn't fond of Gaster right of the bat, and neither was Undyne, clearly. Her golden eyes were fixed onto Gaster, like a guard dog looks at a potential threat. But Gaster would not look at her. To him, it was like the two monster children had faded away with the breeze, leaving him in a second dimension, alone with the human.

"It's been such a long time since I've seen a live human being," continued Gaster, the purple in his eyes spreading like the plague. "The last one was also a female, and I recall Lionheart got her in Waterfall."

"Dad! You came here for a reason, didn't you?" Even someone as naive and innocent as Papyrus could sense that Gaster didn't even try to hide his glee at the previous human's death. But only Gaster seemed to be blind to the ultimate horror in Tess' eyes, something children can recognise in a flash.

"Ah," said Gaster, as if he had only become aware of his own son standing next to him at that very moment. "Why yes, thank you for reminding me. I came to take you home."

"Home?" echoed Papyrus, exchanging a glance with Undyne and Tess. "But, it's just after school and-"

"Don't argue," snapped his father. "Come along now, we're going to Hotland."

So without another squeak, Papyrus dropped his head and trudged after his father. Undyne and Tess watched them go. Just before they disappeared beyond the buildings, Papyrus turned round to give his two best friends a warm, apologetic smile.

For that moment silence drew between the two girls, who let the world around slowly seep back to them like surfacing from strange depths of an ocean.

"Don't worry about him Tessy," Undyne punched her friend in the shoulder, knocking her out of her own fear. "I won't let him hurt you! I'll protect you with my power!" She threw both her fists into the air and tried to shake off her uneasy feeling.

Tess choked out a forced laugh, trying to hide her horrible realisation in her gut that there were more monsters like Gaster, and living in the underground as a human would be a challenge more than it already has been.

"So I guess our plans are cancelled," Undyne changed the subject. "Listen Tessy, our fridge is nearly empty, so can we go food shopping instead?"

"Okay," said Tess, eager to get away from the place where she had seen the Royal Scientist. She had been to the grocery store deep in town only once, since her fear of passing monsters had gotten the better of her once or twice and caused her to stay home, but right now being alone was the last thing Tess wanted.

So Undyne led the way down into town, where all the monsters went about their day. Tess was surprised at how familiar the sights of Snowdin had grown to her already, and all Gaster did by coming here was just poison its bright nature with his unwanted darkness. She shook her head and tried to forget that the black-cloaked skeleton had appeared at all.

The grocery store was perhaps the biggest building in Snowdin to date, able to get lost in it if you didn't know where you were going. Perhaps that's why a frail human like Tess was frightened to go alone to big, heavily crowded places.

"Alright, tonight, I'm making vegetable-and-chicken soup," Undyne announced, pushing open the door to the grocery store. "So I'm gonna need a lot of healthy ingredients!" She elbowed Tess twice lightly. "Y'know, the one I showed you how to make just last week! You know what to get?"

Tess nodded her head again, forgetting about Gaster instantly. Undyne went her way into the noodle isle while Tess hurried off to find the vegetables Undyne seemed so passionate about. While Tess didn't possess as much talent as Undyne, to anything in particular, she did love to watch how Undyne cooked and played piano and practised her fighting with the dummy outside their house. She loved to watch, to listen, to wait... Be patient, that was her motto.

Despite cooking not being her thing, Tess did have a very good memory. She remembered everything Undyne had told her about the recipe.

Chicken, onion, carrot, parsnip, tomato, parsley...

By the time Tess reached the vegetable isle, she had already forgotten all about Dr. W.D Gaster and the event that just played out before her. Her metal basket dangled from her hand as she began to inspect the parsnips. She wasn't particularly fond of parsnip, but it did add the flavour the soup needed, which did taste very nice if it was prepared by Undyne. The long white sticks smelled strongly and fresh, growing greatly despite the lack of sunlight in the underground. She smiled to herself and plopped the two great fat parsnips into her basket. She had gone shopping with her brother when she still lived on the surface, since their father was too drunk to take care of them. He had always let her choose something small and sweet when they had spare pennies to spend. He was so dear to her.

For that moment she could hear him next to her, making some sarcastic remark about how ironic it was that they were so young and already acted like adults. Her hand snaked into her pocket and tightened round her MP3... Her promise...

Her light blue soul gave a jolt as she heard her own voice ring inside her head.

 _I will find you. No matter how long it takes, I will find you in the world, and we can rebuild our lives together. I promise._

She had made a promise. An oath. How long had she been in the underground? She couldn't stay down here forever, she needed to get back to the surface to find him. But what about Papyrus and Undyne? She couldn't just leave them behind. Tess shook herself. Undyne had said that she just had to wait for the barrier to break. That she could accomplish. And she didn't have to find him immediately. Her brother also had a light blue soul, and they had always competed their patience by annoying each other constantly. He could wait, so could she.

In fact, she had a song on her MP3 called 'Wait For It', and it seemed pretty fitting for her. Why was such a simple, bland and talentless girl like Tess going through so much?

Suddenly something crashed into her, causing her to fall on her side onto the cold floor, the items falling out of her basket and sprawling all over the floor.

"Oh sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," said a deep voice from above. "Are you hurt kid?"

Tess shook her head, brushing her messy, unkempt hair out of her face and picked herself up off the floor. She reached out to pick the items off the floor, but to her surprise a blue aura had already done it for her. She spun round to see who had bumped into her, and she almost fell to the ground again.

Another skeleton. This time he was not much taller than herself, around Papyrus' height, yet nothing like her best friend. He wore a massive blue hooded jacket with a furry rim, his face was broad and flattened and had a permanent smile raised on his mouth.

"Woah kid, you look like you've just seen hell," said the skeleton, handing her the basket back. "Why're you so scared?"

Tess backed away, but shook her head in fear that she was being rude by staying silent. After the run-in with Gaster, the only skeleton Tess wanted to see was Papyrus.

"Well anyway, seems like you've gotten yourself in a tight pickle here," he said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Tell you what human, I have a bone to pick with you."

That sentence made Tess' heart stop. He knew she was human too? And what did he have to be angry with her over? She took another step back and looked around to see if Undyne was anywhere near. But the strong blue fish wraith was nowhere in sight.

"What... What do you want from me sir?" Tess asked, trying her hardest to handle a situation by herself, but it wasn't going well. She had handled situations alone before, just something about this skeleton frightened her. Not physically. Mentally.

"Sir?" The skeleton chuckled in his deep voice. "Call me Sans kid. Sans the Skeleton. And I need to talk to you. In private. Here, I know a shortcut."

The human girl did not trust Sans. Not one bit. She kept her distance, much to Sans' dismay.

"Kid, I'm not asking you," said Sans, his white pinprick eyes boring into her like shards of ice. "I need to talk to you. I promise it won't be for long. C'mon."

Still Tess would not listen to him. "I'm not going anywhere with you sir. I'm sorry but my friend is waiting for me."

She began to back away, but a tight feeling gripped her soul and prevented her from moving in any direction what-so-ever. Her usually light blue soul had now turned a deep, dark blue, forbidding her to move even a little.

Sans had raised a single hand, wisps of the same blue magic snaking between his bone fingers. "The more you struggle the more awkward this is gonna get kiddo," he told her, releasing the grip he had on her soul, allowing Tess to rest. "Come with me, I need to just talk to you. I promise you'll be back before Undyne knows you're gone."

He knew. He knew _everything_.

Did it look like Tess had much of a choice? She sighed and left her basket of groceries behind as she hung her head and followed Sans into the next isle blindly. However the shop had suddenly disappeared, replaced by a bang of warmth of a bar.

What? How could it be? Tess looked behind her, but the door which she had not been aware of entering through was closed against the harsh winter cold of Snowdin.

"Wha- Where are we Sans?" Tess gasped, looking at the many weird creatures that sat at the tables. They greeted Sans warmly, then returned to whatever they were doing. To Tess, the grocery store vegetable isle was more private than... whatever this place was.

"Grillby's," Sans replied easily, making his way down to the front of the bar, Tess followed closely.

She had seen the diner; 'Grillby's' in Snowdin, but she had never been inside. Papyrus told her that the food was too greasy and he hated it there, and Undyne had agreed that it wasn't her favourite place in the world, so naturally Tess never went there. In fact, Tess had never ventured anywhere alone since she had made friends with Undyne.

"Take a seat human," he said, sitting down on a high chair himself. Tess propped herself to sit up next to him, and jumped in fright at a loud fart sound. To her surprise, she had sat on a whoopie cushion. "Careful where you sit down," the skeleton chuckled, apparently finding her reaction hilarious. "Blokes like to place whoopie cushions on the seats."

Feeling a little embarrassed at herself, Tess hung her head and let her dark brown hair drop over her face and over the counter. "You wanted to talk to me Sans?"

"Ah yes," he shrugged as if he was merely reminded of an exam he had tomorrow and not studied for. "Now, no doubt you know who Papyrus is."

Tess nodded her head, shaking her hair away from her face. "He's one of my best friends," she told him. "Possibly the nicest person I've ever met."

Sans shrugged and held up three fingers at a creature of pure flames behind the counter. The bartender, presumably named Grillby, nodded his flaming head and went behind the door.

"That's great that you think that of my little brother," was all he said.

Another brick of realisation hit Tess across the head. Sans was Papyrus' brother? It was unlikely... even more than Gaster being their father. The human girl dropped her eye to the polished glasses on the shelves while trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was in fact talking to her best friend's older brother.

"I didn't know, sorry," she apologised sheepishly. "I'm still getting used to everything around here."

"I'm sure you are, but _tibia_ -honest, you're doing a fine job of it."

"Huh?"

She wasn't expecting Sans to complement her, for it was as welcome as a nest of wasps in a toolshed, but she had to admit she felt more at ease when he said it.

"But that's not the point," his voice went dark, as his pupils disappeared. "A friendship with a human like you isn't healthy for my brother. He has already become attached to you as a friend, same with Undyne. Who can blame them? I've been watching, and you haven't attacked a single thing."

"Why would I?" Tess sounded appalled at his accusation. "I'm not some kind of sick freak, I'm just a child. Have I done anything wrong that I've been born human?"

Sans' pupils returned to his eyes in surprise. He had clearly not expected Tess to react in such a way. "Trust me, one time an orange Bravery soul fell down here, and he had killed seven sentries and two bystanders before Lionheart had finally taken him down, and he was no older than you are."

A shiver went down Tess' entire body at his words. How could someone like her even think of killing something? The thought had never crossed her mind, not even once. Her silence was a cue for Sans to keep talking.

"Anyways kid, I know humans differ from each other like monsters do." He ran a skinless hand across his skull. "But I want you to know one thing." His pupils disintegrated from his black eye sockets. "If you ever even think about hurting Papyrus, or Undyne, you'll be dead where you stand."

Tess had been in many situations when she wanted to escape, but never before had the desire to leave gotten this bad so quickly as in this situation. She began to shake at Sans' hostility, so hard that her seat shook with her.

"Calm down kid," Sans shrugged, noticing her scared face. "I don't plan to attack you without cause. Another thing I wanted to talk to you about was Lionheart."

It took Tess a few moments to take in anything else Sans had said to her over the statement he had made.

"Who's... Who's Lionheart?" she managed to choke out.

Grillby came back right on cue, with a single bottle of ketchup. He slid it towards Sans and waited with an expectant glare. Sans opened the bottle without another thought and mumbled- 'put it on my tab'. The flame monster flared higher for a moment as if he looked like he would explode, but then calmed down and turned to take out a thick notebook- which Tess would be willing to bet money was called 'Sans' Tab'.

"Anyway," continued Sans, taking a massive swig of the ketchup. "Lionheart, he's the Captain of The Royal Guard. You could not have heard of the mane man."

Tess had heard his name round her school a couple of times, and she had enough brains to figure out that there were kids, her age, older and younger, who absolutely worshipped him as their hero.

"Lionheart had killed two humans, while Asgore killed the other three," Sans explained briefly. "No doubt he'll be after you too. Your soul will add to the ones needed. He'll come kid, and when he does, you're nothing but a piece of prey."

That was the red line. Tess slid off her chair and slunk away from him, raising her patchwork jacket hood over her head.

To her dismayed surprise she hadn't come out into the isle like she'd expected to, only into the massive, wide town centre of Snowdin town. Her heart gave two beats and, without even turning round, she pelted away from Grillby's and down south to the grocery store, where despite Sans' promise, Undyne would undoubtedly be worried sick at where she was.

Tess was good at running, mostly from her experience of running away, and reached the grocery store in a matter of moments. She ignored the stares from the passersby and even the 'are you alright child?'s from the mothers.

She was at the grocery store in a matter of moments, panting for air as she burst into the shop. The abandoned basket was still there where she had left it, and Tess reached out a shaking hand to pick it up.

"Hey Tessy!" came Undyne's voice from behind. She was carrying meat and other ingredients about the soup Tess had forgotten about. "Have you got all the vegetables and-" she realised how unstable Tess looked. "Is... everything okay?"

Physically, yes. Mentally, no.

After telling Undyne everything that had happened, the monster girl embraced her human in a tight hug, so tight it nearly squeezed the living daylights out of her.

"I never thought Sans would be such an ass," she told her. "Forget the soup, I'm taking you to the River Person and Boat. That should cheer you up."

Tess nodded her head weakly. Now she had met Papyrus' family, and there was no doubt about it. Papyrus was the only ember between the ice.


	7. Chapter 6: Throw the Lion a Bone

This chapter is dedicated to all who are reading this right now. Yes, I personally want to thank you for being here for me, supporting me on this stories and my other ones too. Thank you for reading what I write, and giving me your feedback. I didn't expect my stories to get nearly as much views as they did. It still may not be much, but still. If you're reading this, right here, right now, let me thank you from the bottom of my soul. My heart goes out to you! Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me. Anyways, enjoy! Xx

* * *

Papyrus didn't show up to school the following Monday, or the day after that. He didn't show up the whole week, leaving Tess and Undyne to work on their history presentation alone, and present it alone too. They got graded a D because they lacked Papyrus' notes and had to improvise for some slides, which didn't turn out how the girls had intended it to go.

Eventually Papyrus' abnormal absence started to worry first Tess, then even Undyne. It was unlike him to just disappear into thin air and without word. They had waited for a whole week and a half, and when the teacher called his name in attendance, silence followed Papyrus' name, every time.

Undyne and Tess had tried to call Papyurs on the phone, but gave up once they ran out of gold to spend at the payphone. He hadn't picked up once, and a nice lady picked up in an answer machine, telling them that the person they were trying to reach was unable to take their call right now.

The two girls had even gone as far as to go to the skeletons' house in the outskirts of town. Undyne knocked on the door while Tess watched from the hiding of the snowy bushes in caution of merely seeing Gaster or Sans again. But similarly to the phone situation, nobody answered the door. Undyne had even thrown three stones at their window before Tess stopped her smashing their property.

Eventually they turned to the school office to ask about Papyrus to see if the school had anything to say about his absence, and they came to face with some unwelcome news.

"What do you mean he's left school?!" Undyne bellowed at the startled lady behind the desk, slamming her fist down on the table. "He wouldn't! He couldn't! Do you know what school he's going to now?!"

The old monster took a moment to get over her startled shock at Undyne's outburst before she began to tap something into her computer. It took her a while to reply to the expectant schoolgirls.

"His father transferred him into the Hotland School, which was surprising because Papyrus still lives in Snowdin as far to our knowledge," said she. "But of course we couldn't ask any questions yet- hey!"

Undyne didn't even wait for the lady to finish her sentence. She had busted out of the door, leaving Tess to apologise for her friend's rudeness and dart after her.

"Woah Undyne, where are you going?" she called after her, catching up to her friend easily.

"I'm going to Gaster's lab in Hotland," the monster girl snarled with her teeth bared. "Papyrus has to be there. I want an explanation to this mess. You go home and see if you can find any more pennies for the payphone and-"

"I'm coming with you," Tess said stubbornly, now running level with Undyne. The competitive nature of the fish burst to life as she tried to run faster than her human friend, but Tess ran side by side with her easily. "He's my friend too, y'know."

Undyne stared her down for a few seconds, then snickered with an exaggerated eyeroll, secretly glad that the stubborn scaredy-cat was going with her.

This time they didn't even have to call for the River Person and Boat, who were idle at the cold winter bank of Snowdin. Boat instantly greeted them with thunderous purr, and as usual Tess petted its hard wooden head while Undyne spoke to the River Person and explained their situation. And, as usual, the River Person offered no advice of its own. It just invited the girls onto its boat and set course for Hotland.

It always felt like no time passed when Boat ran across the river, but the change in climate was gradual and very, very real. What became of the harsh cold was scalding heat that felt strange on scales and skin.

Before Boat even had the chance to reach the dock, Undyne had leapt off Boat's back and began to run off up the many stairs. Her human counterpart said goodbye to her beloved steed and its owner and followed her best friend. Quite frankly, it was easy for her to catch up with the monster girl, who's resume was strength, not speed.

The heat had made her break into a sweat which matted her forehead and back as the muscles worked under her skin, and the awkward body sweat made her feel very unclean and in need of a shower.

Without warning, Undyne skidded to a halt, leaving Tess to run an extra few metres before she managed to pull to a gradual stop. The fish stood up straight as a broomstick, head pointing to the side and alert like a bloodhound. Undyne had done this many times, when she heard suspicious noises or just at random points in the night. Undyne had told Tess that while her mother was a sea monster like her, her father was a dog on two legs. You could actually see the hound features in Undyne if you looked close enough.

"What is it?" she asked, but she didn't need to. Her silver gaze followed the direction of Undyne's glare and set upon a massive white building, modern and pure, something that didn't fit into the red-orange hot environment of Hotland. If it wasn't for the huge banner that said 'LAB', one would assume that this was a hospital.

"Do we have to be here?" Tess asked her friend, swallowing the fear that crept up her throat along with the memory of the terrifying Dr. W.D Gaster.

"If Papyrus isn't here, I'm going to let his father have it for making him move school," said Undyne with a loud gnash of her sharp shark teeth. "He better be there."

With a thunderous step, Undyne stormed up to the lab door, Tess cautiously padding a few paces behind. Her wide fist hit the metal door once, twice, thrice. No response.

A few moments passed, and nobody came at the door.

"Welp, worth a shot," Undyne shrugged and turned on her heel to walk away. It was a few paces after that she realised that Tess had not followed her. "C'mon Tess, let's not waste our time here."

"Be patient," Tess told her. She pointed up at the single window above. The light behind it was lit. Someone was in the lab after all. "We have to try again. They'll open for us eventually."

With an unsure step, Undyne walked back to Tess and hammered on the door again.

Again there was no response. The more time they wasted, Undyne got more irritated, but Tess would tell her time and time again that they needed to be patient.

A few trips were made to the water cooler and back for water, Tess never leaving the post in front of the door. They had put the earphones and listened to their favourite playlist, which they listened to the entire way through without the locked door opening.

Undyne would bang her fist on the door regularly, yet it would stay closed and locked. Tess would join in the knocking, and noticed that at one point a tall dark figure stood in the window, staring down at them, blocking out the pale yellow light like a solar eclipse. She waved at whoever stood there, watching and waiting for them to leave, but the figure abruptly disappeared once it saw that she had noticed it.

Maybe that was Dr. Gaster? Maybe it was Papyrus or Sans? Tess didn't know, and neither did Undyne.

While Tess was patient for the door to be opened, Undyne was just determined to get it open. Eventually Undyne rammed into the door with her shoulder at full pelt, however only managed to dent it slightly. She waved Tess' concerns away and rammed into it again, but this time she just accomplished to bruise her shoulder slightly. Tess followed in her footsteps and tried to kick down the door, but made even less of an impact than Undyne did.

"Golly, looks like you two need some help~" cooed a sharp voice behind them. Both girls spun round instantly, but faced a surprising sight.

A tiny yellow flower had appeared from beneath the ground, speaking in a high voice that sounded like he were inhaling helium instead of oxygen. He had a face, but what was memorable about it was the eyes. They still blinked, looked and saw, but whatever- or whoever- was behind them had died. His happy smile did nothing to make him any friendlier. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were empty and without any feeling, and that alone was creepy and unsettling.

"Who the heck are you?" Undyne instantly demanded, trying to hide the fact that she was a little hurt from ramming into the door.

"Oh yeah, where _are_ my manners? Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" the talking plant introduced himself. Undyne gave a snort at Flowey's unoriginal name, but Tess blinked in surprise. She had a feeling she had seen this creature before, she just couldn't put her finger on where.

"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Tess asked, cocking her head to the side innocently. Flowey copied her gesture emotionlessly.

"Of course you have. Golly, don't you remember?~"

Raking through her memories, Tess tried to recall the place where she had seen the single yellow flower, but nothing came to her. It was at the back of her mind, never reachable.

Undyne pressed herself closer to Tess, flashing her teeth at the flower, giving him a silent warning to not lay a finger on her best friend.

"What do you want punk?" she growled, flaring out her fins so her face looked twice as large. "Are you here to make fun of us?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Flowey insisted. "I want to help you. You've been knocking on that door for so long, and they've been so rude as to not let you in. I can help you. I can!"

With a few moments of hesitation, the girls moved away from the door and allowed Flowey to do his thing. The yellow buttercup gave a cat-like screech as two thorny vines emerged from the ground like kraken tentacles. They cracked loudly like whips towards the slightly damaged door, and broke it down effortlessly. The bent metal clattered on the floor at about a zillion decibels before all went silent again and the terrifying vines retreated back into the ground. The girls looked from entrance to flower, from flower to entrance and back again, wondering why he had helped them, but the innocent, empty smile was back on his face.

"My, that was fun! Haven't done that in so long!" he exclaimed. "Anyways, looks like my job here is quite done. Have fun you two!"

With those lines he burrowed himself under the ground and Hotland once again fell silent.

Questions buzzed around Tess' mind like a wild bluebottle, unable to comprehend why the stranger had helped them break and enter into someone else's property. However a cold, webbed hand gripped her arm and dragged her towards the lab entrance, and only let go once Tess trotted willingly behind her.

To their dismay, the lab was empty of any living. Just a huge room with a huge monitor and a messy desk. Undyne was the first to step into the lab, followed shortly by Tess. The coolness blasted in their faces, and cooled them down from the intense heat of outside.

"Undyne! Tess!" the most familiar voice called to them. Tess and Undyne lifted their heads to see their skeleton friend looking down at them from the above floor, worry and panic reflected in his eyes. He sprinted down stairs and to the waiting girls. "What are you doing here?"

"Better question: what are you doing here?" Undyne growled lowly. "Here and not at school?"

But Papyrus wasn't concerned with answering Undyne's question, but rather the broken metal lab door that was now laying useless on the ground.

"But why did you break down the door?" he whimpered, his hands on his skull in panic. "What am I gonna tell my dad? What am I gonna tell Sans?"

"Well maybe if you opened the goddamn door then we wouldn't have to break it down!" Undyne's voice slowly rose with anger at him.

 _Oh brother_ , Tess mumbled, realising that she needed to interfere if Papyrus was to keep his life.

"But why did you leave school Pap?" Tess asked him calmly. "We had to do all our group projects by ourselves with you leaving us standing on the ice."

Papyrus dropped his eye to the ground and didn't answer.

"Well?"

"Alright!" Papyrus snapped under the pressure. "Dad forbid me to tell anyone. I'm not allowed to come back to Snowdin as long as Tess is there."

Tess blinked in surprise, lost for any words. How could she be the direct reason to Papyrus not being able to step foot in Snowdin? Tess opened her mouth to object, but Undyne beat her to it.

"That's baloney!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

Papyrus shook his head. "Dad says Tess is too dangerous to be around. He says that it'll only be a matter of time before she goes rogue, or something like that."

Bile rose in Tess' throat, boiling in her anger. Now the dark glare Sans gave her at Grillby's made sense! He was suspicious of her! The story of the Brave soul, Sans feared that she would turn out the same way. "How can he say that! I'm no-one dangerous!" she objected hotly.

"My dad says something different," Papyrus explained. "He says that humans are dangerous creatures and only live to kill monsters. He told me that being friends with you was bad for me, and that I'm not allowed to see you anymore."

Usually it was Undyne who let her rage get out of control, but this time it was Tess who snapped.

"And what about you? Do you believe that I'll go quote-unquote 'rogue' and murder monsters?"

Surprise gripped Papyrus, and he replied instantly. "No!" Though the answer was too quick, and Papyrus avoided her silver eyes while his foot tapped instinctively on the polished floor. Papyrus was good at many things, but lying was not one of them.

The shock only lasted a mere moment, and was swept under a tidal wave of rage.

"What about all the months?!" Tess' voice began to get louder. "All the time we spent together? All the time I thought you were my friend! And what? Now you're scared of me?"

Papyrus stepping back away from her didn't help his situation at all.

"Am I wrong to be born human?! Is it my fault that the war broke out?!" Tess was shouting now, going slightly red in the face. Tears formed at her silver eyes, forming but not falling. "I thought you were my friend Papyrus! My best friend!" Her light blue soul began to resonate with negative energy, which caused her grey eyes to flash a bright sky blue before resuming their silver colour. "And all it turned out to be was just a joke. Were we even friends at all? Even if we were, I can never be your friend again!"

With that Tess spun round and ran out of the lab, not even pausing to look behind her shoulder.

* * *

Undyne wanted to call after Tess, but the human child was out the door faster than you could say her name. The fish monster bit her bottom lip, fully aware of the awkward silence that fell between her and Papyrus. Taking a deep breath, Undyne turned to Papyrus, who could not bring himself up to look her in the eye.

"Do you really believe that Tessy could do such a thing?" she asked calmly. The lack of rage surprised even Undyne. She should be yelling at him right now, but instead, she wanted to have a civilised conversation with him. It was what Tess would do.

Papyrus didn't answer, nor could he. What should he say?

Undyne narrowed her eyes, taking his silence as a yes. Finally the anger kicked in and Undyne lost it. "Really punk? For a guy who yearns for popularity you've just lost a whole lot of it."

So Undyne left Papyrus there, in his own thoughts. The broken down door was no longer her problem; Gaster would take care of it pronto.

Once again Undyne's cold scales were subjected to the scalding heat of Hotland's atmosphere. She shivered and directed herself towards the river, where it was cooler and offered water for her dehydrated scales. But one thing that wasn't there was the one thing she was hoping to see.

Boat wasn't there, neither was the River Person, or Tess for that matter. She must've taken the ride. And Undyne knew exactly where to find her.

So Undyne dived cleanly into the water, the coldness embraced her. After spending so much time in the boiling atmosphere of Hotland, the freezing riverwater gave her a slight shock at first, but her fish body adapted instantly to her surroundings. Undyne's lungs shut down automatically, her gills springing into play. The young fish wasn't fond of breathing through her gills, since the water going in and out of them was uncomfortable and disorienting, especially when they were neglected and forgotten about while breathing through the mouth above the water. But again, Undyne took a deep breath and swam with the current, quickly thanks to her fins and webbed hands.

This river, contrary to popular belief, was deeper than most. If the friendly monster named Onionsan had lived in the river, he wouldn't have to sit down all the time. The river, it was at the very least five metres deep, which was convenient since Boat and the River Person travelled underwater when called by the well known cry. Some other creatures also used this method of travel, though not much.

Undyne dived lower, so low that her body could scrape across the rocky bottom. It wasn't the best idea to dive into water fully clothed, but Undyne didn't care. She needed to get home as fast as she could.

Swimming was not as fast as Boat's running, but it would have to do. Eventually a bigger marking rock came into view through the blurry water, and Undyne shot upwards through the water like a torpedo. She burst free from the water like a fish, water dripping off her scales and soaking clothes as she landed safely onto the Waterfall marsh on two feet.

Without stopping to shake the droplets of water from her body, Undyne rushed down the familiar way home, shutting down her gills and once again the lungs sprung back to work. A few monsters turned their heads to gaze at her in surprise, among which were who Undyne personally knew, Shyren, Gerson and many moldsmals. Some called out to her to ask her what the hurry was, but Undyne didn't bother to answer any of them.

She skidded to a halt when she came across the friendly yellow bird that sat in the middle of the marsh. It stared at her with expectant, beady black eyes.

 _This little bird wants to carry you across. Accept the bird's offer?_

Every time this bird offered her the service, Undyne wanted to toss herself into the lava in Hotland. How did it muster the strength to lift up a little child like her? Sighing her agreement, Undyne stretched out her arm and allowed herself to be carried across the gorge.

The moment Undyne touched down onto the floor, she was running again. In no time at all she reached their little neighbourhood, and was instantly greeted with her overly nosy neighbours.

"Undyne finally you're here!" Mettaton gasped at her, reaching her first followed closely by his cousin. "We were about to go looking for you and-"

"Where is Tessy?" Undyne cut across him, just now stopping to pant for the breath she had used for running and shook the remaining water droplets off her scales.

"She came in here, running and crying," Mettaton told her, though avoiding answering her question flat out straight. "I honestly can't remember that beauty being this upset before. I tried to ask her what's wrong, but she wouldn't have it. The dear won't let anyone help her." He directly avoided Undyne's annoyed glare.

"Where?" Undyne asked again.

This time it was Napstablook who answered. "She ran into your house," he whispered in his usual monotone. "S-she was really upset."

If Tess had gone straight home and not stopped by to tell the two ghost cousins the story then there was something seriously wrong with her. Undyne thanked her neighbours and bounded over to her house.

 _Damn you Papyrus, you're always screwing up, aren't you?_

The strange door opened, and Undyne stepped into the house. It was orderly, since Undyne herself was a little bit of an OCD maniac and a collectionist, her newest collection consisting of golden bones with red ribbons tied round them. And at first glance anyone would've thought that nothing had changed, but Undyne was an observant person. She could see that the tea boxes that was stacked neatly on top of the counter were tossed about, presumably by someone who had gone into quite a rage. Undyne's finned ears flicked with concern as she held her breath, closed her eyes and listened.

The sobbing was quiet, barely hearable against the roaring silence around. But it could be heard, and Undyne slowly turned towards the sound and blindly walked towards it, her ears guiding her as she went. Eventually she bumped into one of the cupboards and snapped open her eyes into tiny slits. The sobbing was coming from inside.

Without hesitation, Undyne knelt down and opened the wooden door.

"Go away Undyne," came Tess' harsh bark, followed by a series of uncontrollable sobs. Her cheeks were wet, and still tears ran down them ceaselessly like a leaky tap. Her human soul was beginning to get unstable, causing her eyes to shimmer between their usual silver to a toxic, ice-blue.

Undyne shivered at the sight. They had learned about unstable souls at schools, a condition which both humans and monsters were in danger to. Monsters were more likely to get unstable souls, from what Undyne could remember, and their magic would get more powerful that way. But she could never remember what were the consequences of a human's soul loosing stability, but the one thing she could remember, was that it was very, very bad.

"Tessy get out of there," Undyne barked back, hoping Tess would recognise her brisk self. "You won't do yourself any good by cramming yourself into such a small space."

Tess wiped at her cheek, but it proved to be useless against the two streaming tear tracks. She shuffled to turn her back on the monster girl, letting her hair get tangled against the few pans and pots that were stored in there.

"Leave me alone Undyne," she requested again. "You're scared of me, I know it."

Undyne forced her signature laugh ( _fuh-huh-hu_!), but it was clearly forced so Undyne quickly started speaking. "I'm not scared of anything! Especially not a scrawny human wimp like you! Come out of there, you'll back'll hurt."

Fortunately the human girl decided to slip back out of the tiny cupboard, and let herself be lead to the table, where Undyne told her to sit while she began to pick up the many tea boxes Tess had scattered across the room.

"You're not remotely scary," Undyne reassured her, balancing three boxes on her head. "What one do you want?"

Tess managed a laugh. "The golden flower one," she replied.

Of course, Undyne rolled her eyes. It was her favourite, why had she bothered to ask? The silence went away as the water began boiling in the kettle.

"Look Tessy, if you were scary, everyone would want to be your friend!" Undyne snapped at her, hoping to ease the situation in her own way. "Do you know why Lionheart is so loved? He's scary! He's big, he's strong, he's the Captain of the Royal Guard for Asgore's sake!"

However saying the captain's name only made the human shiver and blue flash across her eyes once more. Bad move.

"The point is Tessy," Undyne continued, taking the now screaming kettle off the heat and pouring the water into the cup. "You're not scary, outside or in. If you really were what those idiot skeletons think you are, you'd be in Asgore's castle right now, fighting him to the death. Heck! You'd be there earlier! Of course you'd lose, since our king is unbeatable!"

Undyne placed the hot cup on the table, and waited for Tess to take a sip. "C'mon, it's not that hot!"

Tess laughed weakly and forced herself to burn her mouth with the scalding liquid.

"Listen, Papyrus is being a punk, and he'll soon come to his senses... I think..." Undyne pulled a chair over to sit beside her. "But I'm not gonna believe that someone as skinny and weak as you will become some genocidal mass murderer!"

Tess genuinely laughed with her friend, her eyes no longer showing any traces of her soul colour. Thank the heavens. Undyne also laughed with her, and gave Tess a soft, playful punch to the shoulder.

"What about Papyrus?" Tess asked eventually, once again her soul energy leaking to her eyes.

Undyne lunged forward to wrap her arms round her friend's shoulders and held her close in a tight hug.

"Tessy don't worry about him," Undyne barked harshly. "He'll come to his senses eventually."

Tess' arms still hung limply by her side, but she shivered against Undyne's still wet body before she convinced herself to hug her best friend back.

"Stay with me Undyne," Tess begged, clutching on tighter and tighter. "Stay with me and never leave me."

* * *

Sans returned to the lab a lot later than he had planned to, but oh well. It was usual for Sans to get home half an hour, an hour or even three hours late. His father wouldn't care, and the worst he would get was a calm scolding from his younger brother.

But he didn't expect the sight he returned to. Not this. Never this.

The metal door closing the lab was broken down, busted in by someone who was clearly insanely powerful. Sans' soul leapt, and he quickened his already lazy pace to a run. Sans never ran.

"Papyrus? Dad?" he called cautiously when he entered, but found that nothing much had changed on the inside. Nothing was taken, and everything was where it should be.

Almost everything.

The little skeleton was hiding behind the massive computer, curled up into a little ball of bones, broken down and in tears.

Sans rushed to his side instantly, embracing him in a warm hug.

"My god Papyrus what happened?" he asked, not able to stop the nervous crack in his voice. The youngster pressed himself against Sans' wide chest and let his tears soak into his wooly blue hoodie. The only noises he could make were either sobs or whimpers.

Papyrus had a habit of crying over small things, but would only be a small tear or watery eyes. Sans had not seen Papyrus this broken down in quite some time. "Shh, it's okay Pap, I'm here."

"No it's not," Papyrus lamented, his white boney fingers clutching tightly onto Sans, not able to let go or hold on. "It can never be okay again..."

Sans took his brother's head in his hands to make his distressed face look at him. "Papyrus, you need to tell me what happened," he said sternly, though only earned another round of sobs from the little brother. "I can't help you if I don't know what had happened."

Papyrus clenched his teeth and managed to force out the story.

Undyne and that... _thing_... broke down the door because Papyrus responsibly kept the door shut against them, just like their father had told him to do. And what do they do next? Yell at him and break his fragile heart!

The marrow in Sans' bones began to smoulder with fury. His left eye erupted with a bright blue glow, and Papyrus shrunk away from him, scared. Seeing this, Sans rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand and the blue glow ceased to exist.

Right at that moment the door to the secret lab opened, and out came their father. Though Gaster looked more angry than he usually did. The purple in his eyes was glowing brighter than Sans could ever get his to glow. A dragon skull appeared behind him as he held up something into the air. Something small and thin, green and yellow, and something that was laughing like a maniac.

"You weed!" Dr. W.D Gaster shrieked in his low-pitched voice, the gaster blaster behind him getting ready to fire. "You dare break into my lab and sneak into my works!?"

Both Sans and Papyrus looked at the sight with wide eyes, not able to say anything in the wake of their raging father, even if he wasn't angry with them.

The closer he looked, Sans spotted that in his father's hands, writhed a tiny yellow flower, its face horribly disfigured and mouth wide open to show its terrifying jagged teeth.

"We're lucky I shipped the human souls to King Asgore yesterday, where you'll never get them," Gaster growled at him, but the flower merely laughed at his threats.

"That's what you think doctor!" the tiny plant sneered. "All it took was a crack and the door was down! You'll take those souls again, and I'll continue to take and take and take until I have the power _to become god!_ "

Gaster threw the weed as hard as he could against the wall, where it lay limply for a second before it picked itself back up despite not being able to reach to the earth with its spindly roots. As it lifted its head, Sans pressed Papyrus closer to him, incase this midget threat was more than it seemed.

"And why do you think I could break in?" the flower shouted, still that unbearable, insane tic in its voice. "If that weakling-" it turned its head so its two white eyes bore into Papyrus' skull, causing his older brother to automatically shield him from the threat. "-had just opened the door for the human girl and her monster brute of a friend, they wouldn't've dented the door and weakened it! I helped the trio have their little chat, didn't I?"

Papyrus just let out a huge sob.

Seeing this, the flower smiled wider. "I guess it didn't go well?" it sneered with fake pity. "You had learned to trust the wraith and the human, yet thanks to doctor over here being the pathetic, unstable-souled monster that he is, you have turned both of them away." The flower lifted its head higher, and its already ugly face moulded so it shifted between Undyne's face and Tess', making it a horrible and disgusting sight to watch. "You could've had what I wanted, you idiot," shrieked the flower. "That human could've been my Chara to you!"

With that, the horrible weed smashed the floor tiles and slithered between the cracks and into the uncomfortable hot earth, certainly to be seen again.

"We need to get reinforcements in the true lab," Gaster sighed in annoyance, the skull behind him disappearing into nothingness like mist in the morning. "I will notify the king of this pest and-"

Sans didn't listen to his father's ramblings, but instead turned to his little brother.

"We're going to do something about this situation," he whispered to Papyrus and held out his hand to him. "C'mon Papy, let's go visit an old friend of mine."

Papyrus wiped his tears away and gave a happy smile. His red-gloved hand fitted itself into Sans' bone hand, and in a matter of moments, Sans focused his energy and the white lab melted away into a rather dark and shady neighbourhood in New Home.

Sans stood to his feet, followed closely by Papyrus, who looked around with wide eyes. Papyrus had never been to the city before, most of his time was spent in Snowdin or, until recently, the Waterfall. The houses in Snowdin were snug, warm little cottages, but the homes here tall, massive, no doubt strange and alien to him. So his hands curled round Sans' black shorts as his older brother looked right, then left, then all around.

This wasn't a place where one would willingly take young children to. The houses loomed forward from both sides like unwanted attention, and Sans knew that this was a bad place. Many monsters lost their lives here in violent duels or gang wars. Nobody from the outside apart from Sans had ever gone into this shady neighbourhood.

And this was coincidentally the place where The Captain of the Royal Guard, Lionheart, lived.

With an assuring word to Papyrus, Sans led the way to a certain house in the alleyway, indifferent to the others. The doorbell rang a now-familiar song, and a few moments after the huge ebony door swung open inwards.

"Sans?"

Lionheart was clearly not expecting a visit from Sans, or his younger brother for that matter. His heavy metal armour was nowhere in sight, instead replaced by a stained white yet yellowish vest and long jeans, fur as bright as gold sticking out from under the clothes.

"Heya Lionheart," Sans greeted him in his usual manner. "Are you gonna let us come in or are you gonna let us get torn to shreds by the dangerous kids that live out here?"

Lionheart yawned, showing off his massive lion mouth and sharp teeth, and stepped aside so Sans could enter, Papyrus still clutching to his clothes.

Lionheart lived all alone, since his mother had died in childbirth and his father was turned to dust by a rival gang. He had exceeded all expectations and fought his way up to the rank of Captain, despite his shady roots. His house was a lot like Sans' room, untidy and filthy, paint peeling from the walls and there were dents in the floor which showed where the feet have walked, over and over, worn away by time.

"What brings you here Sans?" Lionheart asked, and then noticed Papyrus standing behind his big brother. "And you've brought Papyrus?"

"I have to talk about your duty," Sans said seriously, abolishing his joking personality and getting strict. "You have killed humans before, haven't you?"

Lionheart shrugged as if it were just like squishing a bug and gestured the falling-apart couch, on which Sans sat on. However Papyrus still stood standing, shivering on his feet. The lion ignored him and shook his magnificent mane. "You remember Bravery? He put up quite a fight didn't he? Happy times." His face lit up. "Oh! And then there was Integrity! She didn't know what was coming for her! Ha ha!"

Sans shrugged, not thinking twice about Lionheart's strange... hobby, but Papyrus seemed terrified at the words that were coming out of his hero's mouth. Sans waved his doubts away, Papyrus was always over sensitive to everything, so this was nothing to worry about.

Lionheart stopped his roaring laughter. "Why'd you bring that up?"

"Another had fallen down," Sans reported.

In that moment something glimmered in the anthropomorphic lion's orange eyes as he leaned forward. "Go on," he said, his voice changed.

Sans didn't dare look at his brother. He knew it would be tough for him to take in, but he needed to realise that everybody and anybody who messed with him needed to pay.

"She's Patience," Sans told him effortlessly. "Black hair, silver eyes, light blue soul."

"Ooh," Lionheart purred in pleasure. "I don't think I've gone up against one of those before. Of course that isn't as good as Determination, but I've heard that Patience are awfully persistent."

Sans merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, that's your fun. This one's no older than Bravery was, but she's already settled down in Snowdin and made herself quite at home."

The mane around Lionheart's mane followed his movements as he slowly nodded his head. "This little human seems different from the ones that have fallen down so far, but it will make a fine collection to the others. King Asgore will be pleased." His paws rubbed together in delight. "Looks like there is another human to slay for Captain Lionheart!"

However both Lionheart and Sans had forgotten about the presence of Papyrus, who looked on at his brother and his friend in horror, tears forming at his eyes, a single thought reflected deep in soul.

 _What have I done?_


	8. Chapter 7: Evacuation

_She's Patience, black hair, silver eyes, light blue soul..._

 _I don't think I've gone up against one of those before... I've heard that Patience are awfully persistent..._

 _It will make a fine collection to the others... King Asgore will be pleased..._

 _Looks like there is another human to slay for Captain Lionheart!_

Those voices rang around the young skeleton's head as he ran, panting steadily for air. His older brother and the captain of the royal guard didn't notice when he slipped quietly away, and it took him quite a while to find a way out of the shady neighbourhood where Lionheart lived. Now, he was sprinting at full pelt down the main streets of New Home, the buildings looming in on him from both sides. Monsters turned heads at him, but Papyrus gave them no attention. He needed to warn Tess and Undyne!

Papyrus turned left, then right, then left, and put more power into his sprint when the CORE came into view.

The smell of ozone disoriented him a little, but the little skeleton didn't hesitate and ran straight into the unmapped maze that was his father's work.

Right... no left! Turn left for goodness' sake! Straight on... why was Gaster's work always so confusing? Monsters didn't usually travel through the core, but it was faster than the usual way down to the lower levels of Hotland.

His feet skidded across the smooth and polished floor as he realised he had ran straight into a dead end. Goddammit! Wasting no time, he turned back around and tried another way.

 _Better question: what are you doing here?_

 _Why did you leave school Pap?_

Drat! There must be a way out of here! Left... or did he turn right? All the corridors looked the same, and even with the puzzles deactivated it was hard to navigate. The huffs and puffs of the CORE were coming from every direction, calling in their awful voices to come their way.

Papyrus once again ran into a dead end, and turned swiftly around to run back, but he was faced with an unwelcome sight. New Home once again? He'd been running around in circles!

"C'mon," the skeletal boy snapped at himself. "The Great Papyrus always knows his way."

Though it didn't help that the layout of the CORE could be reshuffled, so the way was not always the same. This time Papyrus had to hesitate before he ran back into the machine.

Where was it? Where was the way? He needed to outrun the lion and his older brother. They were coming for them.

A few million moments passed, and finally Papyrus emerged out of the right end. The sight of the upper Hotland neighbourhood came before him, and brought more strength to Papyrus' bones.

Run skeleton, run.

Down the stairs, and to the right. The elevator! It must be working! It had to work!

"Hey! I'm Heat Flamesman! Remember my name!" shouted a small fire monster next to the entrance to the elevator. Papyrus didn't take notice of him however, and pressed the white button on the devilish looking lift.

The door swung open almost instantly, and Papyrus gladly waltzed in and selected floor R1. The door swung closed, and the elevator started moving down.

 _You've killed humans before, haven't you?_

It seemed like an eternity before the elevator doors opened again, and set Papyrus loose on the lower levels of Hotland. Once again the boy ran from rest, jumping down the stairs that led to his father's lab, but once again Papyrus didn't pay it any attention. It was his prison, where he had been fed those poisonous lies about humans by Gaster and by Sans. He could see that now.

Anyone could be a good person if they just tried. He firmly believed that. It didn't matter if the person was a monster or a human. It was a shame that it only got to him now.

 _Do you really believe that Tessy could do such a thing?_

Papyrus took five steps down at a time, going faster, faster and faster. He skidded to a halt before he plunged headfirst into the cold river.

River Person and Boat weren't there. No matter.

Every monster knew how to call them, and Papyrus was no exception. He tapped his foot thrice on the ground and bellowed: "Arise and come to me!"

Almost instantly Boat emerged from within the depths of the underground river, droplets of water scattered from the wood as the familiar cat head roared its arrival, the black hooded figure on its back. Papyrus shielded himself from the splatter of water that came from the wooden feline crashing down onto the surface of the river. Once again everything was calm and quiet.

Papyrus wasted no time and stepped forward to hop onto Boat's back, but the canoe lunged forward, aiming to sink its many crooked teeth into the bones. The boy snatched his boney hand away just in the nick of time and Boat's teeth snapped down on nothing but thin air.

"Boat won't allow you to saddle on its back," said the River Person cooly, its hood casting a shadow over its inexistent face. "It heard what you had said to its favourite human."

Papyrus shivered for a moment.

 _Now you're scared of me?_

He shook away the tiny voices at the back of his mind. Boat snarled at him loudly, so that Papyrus took another step back. Telling himself to get a grip, he began to explain.

"Listen, I need to get to Undyne and Tess as quickly as possible," he started, but the River Person would not let him finish.

"Why would you want to do that? You're scared of Light Blue Soul, are you not?" it told him coldly and emotionlessly.

Papyrus shook his head. "I'm scared for them! Captain Lionheart's after Tess!"

But his cry didn't make the River Person react. It didn't even shudder. Instead it was Boat who snapped at him again. Anger shined in its beady black eyes, and its claws started to dig into the hard Hotland rock at the bank of the river.

Papyrus' panic grew to desperation quickly. "If I don't warn them Tess will be murdered!"

"Why should we believe you?" the River Person shook its head, keeping back its steed with a single black bony hand. "How do we know you're not bluffing?"

Papyrus didn't keep himself back from bellowing at the river dwellers and their stubborn stupidity. "Are you kidding me? My older brother told Captain Lionheart about Tess! He's coming for her! He's going to kill her!"

However all he got was a loud roar from Boat, which silenced Papyrus immediately.

"Don't speak, skeleton," the River Person spoke quietly and calmly, which somehow hurt Papyrus more than if it had yelled it forcefully. "Our minds are up. Do not bother us again."

With that Boat gave Papyrus the dirtiest look it could muster, and dived back into the rippling riverwater, disappearing beneath and swimming away.

The skeleton boy stood there, dumbfounded. A solid moment passed as he stared at the river where the former friendly hooded figure and the formerly loving wooden steed had been. This was their other side. Their genocide mentality.

He did not believe for one second that the cold, emotionless hooded reaper was the same monster as the friendly, mysterious and advice-giving River Person. He did not believe for one second that the growling, snarling wooden beast was the same creature as the passive, trusting feline. But his experience had said otherwise.

Strange how people could change when you agitated them.

It looked like Papyrus would have to go the long way. Nothing the Great Papyrus couldn't handle.

But suddenly Papyrus didn't feel like it was the right thing to do to turn into The Great Papyrus. He couldn't rely on The Great Papyrus to solve all his problems. The regular Papyrus caused this mess. Now the regular Papyrus would have to fix it.

So once again he was running, his footsteps hitting the ground in steady rhythm as the surrounding area grew to a blur around him. The 'Welcome To Hotland' sign was barely readable against the speed, and the hotness of Hotland melted away into the coolness of Waterfall. The rocks hung from the ceiling like dark chandeliers, and the glowing stones shined brighter than ever before. Papyrus was told that those were to imitate something called 'stars'. What was a star? A white dot in a black sky, Sans would say. Personally Papyrus had never seen a star, but the way Sans talked about them he had always assumed that it was a beautiful thing.

Just like predicted, running on foot took way longer to get to the well-known enclosed neighbourhood than getting there on Boat's back. However Papyrus got there eventually. This is undoubtedly where he would find Undyne, and if he was lucky, Tess too.

 _Do you believe that I'll go quote-unquote rogue and murder monsters?_

The second Papyrus took a step into the neighbourhood, a semi-familiar voice called over to him. He knew he had heard the voice before, he just couldn't put his finger where.

The next thing he knew a ghost was up in his face, showing his teeth and narrowing his ghastly eyes.

"What do you think you're doing here?" the ghost shrieked in his high-pitched voice. "You dare show your ugly face here?"

"My face isn't ugly!" Papyrus defended himself instantly, panting heavily from his self-inflicted cross-country.

"I beg to differ darling!" Mettaton yowled at him, getting up in his face so Papyrus had to take a step back as to not touch the ghost's cold transparent being. "You're just a kid! A kid with a filthy heart!"

"Just let me past!" Papyrus bellowed back, tears starting to well at his eyes from the effort and shock. "I need to see Tess and Undyne!"

"You'll get past my cold dead body!" screamed the ghost, then realised his mistake. "You won't get another chance to break the darling's heart again!"

Papyrus gnashed his teeth together in irritation. "Please Mettaton! I need to tell them something very important!"

Though just like Boat and River Person, Mettaton didn't look convinced. He made an unholy noise before snarling more at the skeleton.

"What do you want to tell them that's so important that you wish to bother them after all you've done?"

Papyrus barely hesitated before he told Mettaton the truth. The ghost instantly backed off.

"Well why didn't you say so darling? My I must tell Blooky! He needs to know! You go on and tell the girls boyo, perhaps it's not too late to be forgiven."

Papyrus watched the strange ghost streak away, and then melt into the walls of the neighbourhood. What a weird fellow.

No time to loose! He needed to warn Undyne and Tess!

 _Were we even friends at all? Even if we were, I can never be your friend again!_

Papyrus hesitated, the argument playing out in his mind. He let Gaster's lies about humanity get to him, and it caused the whole fiasco.

If he didn't listen to Gaster, he would've told Undyne and Tess about his situation. If he did that, the girls wouldn't break into the lab to see if he was okay. If they hadn't broken into the lab, Papyrus wouldn't have to admit his terrible crime of fearing the human. If he hadn't been afraid of Tess, her feelings wouldn't've been hurt. If Tess hadn't fled, shortly followed by Undyne, Papyrus wouldn't have to curl up and get depressed for Sans to find him. And if it wasn't for that, Sans wouldn't feel the need to get revenge for making Papyrus cry. And of course, if Sans didn't know of their argument, or just wasn't so darn overprotective, he wouldn't've gone to Lionheart. If all that didn't happen, Undyne and her human would've been safe from the Captain of the Royal Guard.

If only Papyrus kept believing that anyone could be a good person if they just tried.

Undyne had done nothing wrong. Tess had done nothing wrong.

 _I can never be your friend again!_

It didn't matter now. If he didn't warn them, at least one of them would die. Knowing Undyne though, she had a strong instinct to protect those she cared about, so mostly likely she would get herself killed while battling for her best friend's life. And Tess... there was no doubts about it. If Lionheart came for her, it was game over.

The walk to Undyne's house seemed to go on for an eternity, and it went on forever. But for how long it seemed to drag, it was over in no time at all. The door was shut, the teeth clenched together against the outside.

A warm piano song emerged from the interior, a piece that Papyrus knew Undyne had been practising for the past month. A piece that the three had dubbed "Battle Against a True Hero", and one that Undyne was particularly fond of. It was a difficult piece for a beginner like Undyne, but she was playing it surprisingly well, with only a few wolf notes here and there.

A wave of nostalgia washed over Papyrus, and he suddenly realised that this life, one he was so familiar with, was now so distant. Why did he have to throw it away?

Hesitation... a few long moments passed as he hesitated, but eventually Papyrus slowly knocked on the door.

The music stopped instantly, and the door opened like a hungry mouth, and the wraith stood there in the doorway. Her face merged into surprised anger. It was clear she had not expected him to show up at her door.

"Undyne I-"

Papyrus didn't manage to say much before he felt the air being knocked out of his non-existent lungs, the next he felt himself hitting the ground. A yelp emerged from him, the fall taking a few points off his health bar. The pain kept him down for half a second, after which Papyrus tried to get up, but found that if he wanted to keep his pathetic life, he couldn't.

Undyne held a glowing blue spear at his chest, forcing him to stay where he was. Young monsters like Undyne were not able to summon strong magic like Asgore, Lionheart or even Sans, for their magical forms were still developing as with their abilities. As luck would have it, Papyrus and Undyne had just reached the age where the magic they wielded was beginning to show up. Though it was not strong, it still could do damage to a low-hp child.

"Why are you here punk!?" Undyne bellowed, trying to decide whether to point her spear at Papyrus' chest, or under his chin. Either would be terrifying. "You didn't have enough!?"

"Undyne I-"

"Be quiet!" she shouted and raised her spear, ready to bring it down onto his head. Papyrus only had a split second to react. Between his hands appeared a single femur, which clashed with Undyne's sharpened blue spear. Both weapons were frail, and broke upon contact with a loud glass-shattering noise. It was enough to allow Papyrus to scramble to his feet to face Undyne at his full height. He took a deep breath and once again tried a reasonable conversation. "I have to talk to you! You have to listen!"

"I don't have to do anything other than die!" the girl snapped, another blue spear appearing between her hands.

Oh dear, her power does not falter, does it? Papyrus groaned to himself. "Undyne just listen to me! I-"

"SHUT UP!"

Papyrus looked at Undyne in amazement. He knew she was determined and persistent. He knew she was protective, sometimes even more than Sans. But this was unbelievable. "Undyne please listen!"

In reply the little monster girl raised the spear over her head and ran towards Papyrus, yelling "nyarrrgh!" at the top of her lungs. Papyrus caused another bone to appear just in the nick of time to parry her lunge, and they began to fight.

Though he didn't look it, Papyrus could actually match Undyne in a fight. Their magic was equally weak, and the children were equally inexperienced in battle. However they each paid very close attention in battle classes, and knew exactly how different moves worked.

Their weapons shattered, were summoned again only to be shattered once more.

"We don't have to fight Undyne!" Papyrus called as he parried Undyne's overhead blow in the nick of time. "I just have to tell you something important!"

"Does it look like I care?" Undyne bellowed back, her spear falling apart in her hands. She grit her sharp shark teeth and another appeared at her palms, sharper and stronger than the last. "You're a coward! A coward!"

Papyrus jumped to avoid a set of spears that emerged from the floor, squealing in fright. That was a move only teens would do, yet Undyne had managed it almost perfectly.

Tiredness weighed on the skeleton boy, and he decided to play his final, very desperate card.

"LIONHEART KNOWS ABOUT TESS!" he yowled out, half in terror, half in irritation.

In that moment Undyne dropped her weapon and the red-rage vanished from her golden eyes like mist into morning. Instead of anger, confusion swept her away as she didn't even know what to say.

"Papyrus?" a third voice joined them. Papyrus gulped as he recognised it, and turned around slowly.

She was standing there, his human friend. She had been crying, though stopped because she had no more tears left to shed. Her silver eyes bore into Papyrus' and that feeling of fear cracked at his soul like a whip.

No! Papyrus shook the feeling of fear away from himself. He wasn't afraid of this human. She was good natured. Anybody could be good natured.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out at her. "I don't want to be scared anymore. Anyone can be a good person if they just try. It's a shame it only gets to me now."

Tess blinked and nodded her head. She was shaking. Was she afraid of him? Then Papyrus realised that he had yelled out what he wanted to warn them about. Tess was always very fearful, he knew that all too well.

"Waitaminute," Undyne butted in. "How did Lionheart find out about Tessy?"

Papyrus's eyes darted from golden eyes to grey eyes, trying to decide what to tell them. He eventually decided that he would tell them the truth.

"Sans told him," he said finally. "He wanted to make you pay for arguing with me and-"

"Should've known _he_ would be the one to rat me out," Tess barked suddenly. "No offence to your brother," she added quickly.

"None taken," Papyrus assured her, though he did feel slightly offended that someone had something bad to say about his brother. "He told Lionheart that you were staying here, what you looked like, your soul, everything!"

Tess whimpered and sat down to cuddle her knees, beginning to shake violently.

"Where is he now?" asked Undyne, using another one of her glowing blue spears to prop herself up. "How far was he when you last saw him?"

Papyrus turned to her fully. "New Home," he told her. "It's not safe for Tess here. Sooner or later Lionheart will find her and kill her."

Another terrified noise escaped from their human friend, but none of the monsters paid her attention while they tried to figure out what to do.

So Papyrus began to pace from dummy to fanged door and back again, trying to come up with a cunningly clever plan, Tess sat with her back propped up against the house while Undyne threw her spears into the neighbouring wall.

What should they do?

* * *

Thundering footsteps echoed round the dark and dingy tunnels of Waterfall, the monsters that were native to the swampy area scurried away like woodlice into the dark crooks and cleared the pathway for the mighty hero to pass. Their many eyes followed him as he walked with a quick step down the pathway among the suddenly silent echoflowers.

The gentle blue glow of the star-stones and echoflowers barely matched to the lion's glowing amber eyes. Only very powerful monsters could make their eyes glow, and now Lionheart's eyes were giving off such bright wisps that it looked like there were two long orange ribbons stitched onto his very eyes. His golden mane shined in the glow of his eyes, as did his dark suit of armour. His ears were flattened against his head in anticipation, his mouth open to search for the scent of human blood.

It's been so long since he'd gone up against a human. King Asgore would always have him do the dirty work for him, not able to look another human in the eyes after he himself had killed some. Lionheart took on the position of executioner gladly, rising to the rank of captain in so little time.

His previous battle with Bravery was thrilling. The little human boy was talented in ways of war, powerful with his high LV and EXP, bulldozing through the sentries and monsters he encountered. Lionheart's tongue licked over his sharp teeth as he remembered those widened human eyes as his opponent realised he had no chance against the hero of monsters. The captain didn't hesitate before he forcefully lowered the genocidal child's hp to zero, remembering how he'd lifted his head in proudness and satisfaction afterwards, remembering the congratulations from the relieved citizens of Snowdin who had been hiding out in terror from the threat.

Then came Integrity, a rather tall near-adult girl. She had somehow evaded monster eyes all the way to Waterfall, but not the lion eyes. She didn't even see him. It was a quick kill. No battle, no confrontation. Perfect one shot. Once again that feeling of satisfaction had flowed through the lion's body. And that was the moment he knew he was addicted.

Now this was another chance to feed his addiction. Another soul to claim. Another human to slay. Finally!

Energy tingled in his fingers, his magic barely holding back. Don't worry, he assured himself. Not long now.

Sans told him exactly where the human would be staying. That little wraith's house. Of all monsters to be hiding a human, he hadn't expected the blue fish girl to be the one to do it. He saw the way she looked up at him, looking to him for comfort and a way to escape from her bullies. Oh well, he would say that Patience's death was necessary and for the good for the kingdom of monsters. And he was not wrong.

His two feet stepped into the enclosed neighbourhood, and took a deep inhale.

The residents' scents melted together like amalgamates, but a veteran like Lionheart knew how to tell smells apart.

Two ghosts lived here, though their ectoplasmic stench was weak, not that it could be strong in the first place. And Sans' younger brother... Papyrus was he called? It didn't matter. He was also here, not too long ago too, with Undyne. But Lionheart barely noticed all these scents and focused on the one.

A human scent.

It was laced with so much fear that even Lionheart himself was surprised. But it was fresh, sweet and innocent. The captain could already tell that Patience was a young child, just like Bravery was, though not nearly as bloodthirsty. He could tell that she was a flight animal, not a fighting one, and would be very easy to scare off, and even easier to kill. The lion purred at the thought, though was slightly disappointed that there wasn't going to be any blood-curdling battles he could fight. Oh well, he couldn't get everything he wanted.

He took another step forward, and an unfamiliar voice screamed at him. Flicking his head up, Lionheart turned his head to look at the monster who had protested so loudly at his sight.

A ghost was hanging there, trembling, however determined. His eyes were fixed on the lion hero, narrowed with grim despair. His mouth opened and out came the highest-pitched voice you could've possibly imagined.

"Get out of here, you're not welcome!" the ghost shrieked, puffing himself up to make himself more dangerous. "Shoo!"

He seemed to deflate slightly out of fear at Lionheart's unimpressed gaze. The Captain was not fazed.

"And who are you supposed to be?" he asked calmly, relaxing his pose, though annoyed at the core that his pleasure was to be delayed. Oh well, he could wait.

"M-M-My name is Mettaton!" the ghost shrieked again, though a stammer escaped into his voice. "G-G-G-Go away!"

Did this pathetic ghost seriously think he could stop him? Maybe he too knew about the human and wanted to kill it himself? Lionheart shook his head and paid Mettaton no more attention as he made his way to Undyne's house in a quick step.

"NO!" Mettaton threw himself before Lionheart in a lame attempt to stop the monster, but it did nothing. The ghost's transparent body merely phased through the lion's bully body, making him shiver in extreme discomfort, but the lion took no notice. The ghost looked back at him as he neared to the fish-like house before he threw himself at the lion again. "Leave them a-a-alone!"

But Lionheart flicked his hand, and Mettaton's ghastly white soul turned a sickly amber colour, allowing the brute to attack it directly. Before the ghost could do anything, the bigger monster batted at the now-physical soul like a little kitten at a yarn ball. But for how effortless the swipe was, when it collided with the ghost's soul, it sent him tumbling back through the air until eventually he collapsed on the soggy ground, already down half his hp. A ghost cannot be hurt by physical means, until their soul is turned orange and can be attacked head-on, which monsters like Lionheart were capable of doing.

"M-M-M-Mettaton!" Another ghost flew from hiding, rushing over to his cousin's side in an instant.

Lionheart's mouth twisted into a sneer as he turned his back and quickened his pace. He would've liked to end the annoying spirit's life, but that was not his order. Soon he would have just as much fun in murdering Patience, slowly and delicately.

The house came into view, and Lionheart's smile only widened. Prolonging his desire, Lionheart pressed his ear to the door and listened.

Nothing.

The human must be hiding. How cute.

A loud, lion growl emerged from Lionheart as he lashed out with his leg, kicking down the door so effortlessly as if it was a plank in a decaying fence. He waited for a while before letting himself enter the house.

Clean. Undyne sure did have standards. But instantly Lionheart knew something was off.

The counter. Food packaging had been left out in the middle of preparing something to eat, presumably soup, but not cleared away. Whoever had been preparing the food had sure left in a hurry.

Lionheart listened, yet heard nothing aside from his own steady breathing. He opened his mouth and inhaled, the scents of the house reaching out to meet the top of his ragged upper mouth.

All three children were in here, though their smells were stale. They were not here at all. Perhaps they hid in the fish's bedroom or bathroom or other room?

Lionheart searched the whole house, noticing that the usually house of one had been transformed into a home for two. A sister and a sister, not in blood, but in bondage. He took his time to inhale in each room, and his heart continued to fall when he didn't smell any fresh scents.

Soon with crushing disappointment, Lionheart lashed out at Undyne's piano, leaving three long claw-marks across the black polished wood, absolutely ruining it.

They weren't here! That skeleton brat must've warned them! Sans should've never brought him along! What a killjoy! He was going to kill all three kids at this rate. Why should he be stopped? Kill the skeleton boy. Kill the wraith girl. Kill the Patience.

Wait... _their neighbours_...

They must know where they are!

Lionheart's jaws opened widely, showing off his killer teeth, an insanely loud roar emerging from the depths of his throat like toxic ash out of an active volcano. The pathetic house Undyne dared to call her own shook, and the windows shattered at once, the ridged glass falling to the ground like millions of little diamonds.

Throwing himself out of the house, Lionheart bounded over to the two ghost cousins with his side teeth shown and ears flattened tightly against his head, eyes glowing brighter than ever before.

Both ghosts' souls once again turned that sickly orange colour, and both screamed as they saw the mighty beast bounding over to them. There was a flash of movement, and Lionheart felt one of them be pinned under his foot. He didn't care which one it was.

"TELL ME WHERE THEY ARE!" Lionheart roared so loud the walls trembled, as the did the ghost. "NOW!"

"I... I won't!" Mettaton wailed, the weight being put on his frail soul being almost too much for him to bare. "I... I can't tell you were they are. You'll kill them!"

Lionheart barked with annoyance. "You're not wrong. I'll kill each of them, feel their bodies crumble at my feet. And you're going to tell me where they went, or you'll be waiting for them in hell."

He slowly applied pressure to his foot, which caused Mettaton to cry out in pain as his health lowered more. Tears of ectoplasm started to run out of his eyes, which only caused that feeling of satisfaction raise its ugly head in Lionheart's heart. Maybe I should kill this pathetic excuse for a monster? Nobody will know if there aren't any witnesses...

But what Lionheart had forgotten, was that there was in fact someone else watching this. A ball of condensed ectoplasm hit Lionheart in the side of the head, lowering his own health by five points. It was not much for a powerful brute like Lionheart, who had so much LV it was unbelievable, but for such a weak monster like Napstablook it was like a power-up.

"L-L-L-Leave m-my cousin alone y-y-you m-monster!" Napstablook cried, tears of fear streaming down his face as he shook the orange off his soul. "I-I-I-I... I'll hit you again if you don't leave!"

Lionheart gazed at him in amazement, but his expression soured again. His foot continued to press down on Mettaton's weakening soul.

"W-w-what are you d-doing! Let h-h-him go!" cried Napstablook, gathering his special attack with all his might and sent it hurtling towards the lion. However all the 'hero' had to do was lift his great arm, and his armour protected him from the ghost's attack. Once he knew he was safe from taking more unnecessary damage, he lowered his arm and gave the terrified ghost a dark sneer.

"So you care about your cousin do you?" he cooed quietly, amber eyes ceasing their raging glow to stare coldly at Napstablook, who seemed to shrink at their sight. "Would be a shame-" he crushed his foot violently, and Mettaton gave a loud outcry of agony. "-if I just crushed his soul to little shards. You wouldn't want that, would you...?"

Napstablook shook his head violently, now flooded over with tears.

Lionheart gave a dry laugh. "Perhaps there is a way for me to show your dear cousin mercy," he pretended to ponder. "Maybe you could tell me where those three children are? That would be very useful to me, wouldn't it?"

"No Blooky, don't tell him!" Mettaton pleaded, taking a few gasps of breath in a lame attempt to make the pain go away. Lionheart shut him up by digging his heel into his cracking soul, lowering the ghost's hp down to two.

"Time's ticking ghostie," Lionheart purred at him. "Tell me where the children are, and your cousin gets to keep his life. It's not much. But still..."

Napstablook let a whine, not able to squeeze a word out of his tight mouth.

"Tick tock," Lionheart growled sweetly, applying a little more pressure.

...1hp...

"Snowdin..." whispered Napstablook, stammering greater than ever. "They escaped to Snowdin..."

"See? That wasn't so hard!" Lionheart meowed cheerfully, taking his foot off of Mettaton's soul and allowed it go melt back into snowy white. "You saved your cousin, shouldn't you be happy?"

But Napstablook wouldn't stop crying. Never before had Lionheart seen a ghost cry so much. In honesty, it was disgusting.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to show you their dust and corpse after I get them," Lionheart told him gently, making a mock-swipe at the tear-ridden ghost, his paw phasing right through the non-physical body. "I think I'll let you keep them. Though not the corpse, Asgore would want to bury it with the others."

So Lionheart calmly stood up and walked away from the isolated neighbourhood, heart lifted in happiness. Just wait! He'd get his hands on those kids and kill them one by one.

* * *

A few hours earlier the three had left Waterfall and fled into the snowlands beyond Snowdin. There were eyes of monsters everywhere in the town, and any one of them would gladly help Lionheart catch another human. They weren't safe in the snowed in town of Snowdin.

Undyne lead the three onward heroically, shifting the heavy bag on her shoulders. Her fins shifted with the cold, and she snuggled closer to her jacket.

"C'mon guys! The underground isn't that big and Lionheart will be looking for us everywhere!" Undyne called to the two behind her. Tess was shivering, but patient to get wherever they were going, also packed up with some things she decided to take. She had told them that she was used to fleeing, so this was nothing new to her. Poor thing.

Papyrus was with them. His tagging along surprised both Undyne and Tess, who told him that his family would be worried about him. However Papyrus stubbornly protested that they needed The Great Papyrus to protect them. Pssht. As if. Undyne would be the one to be the protector of the group! She always was, and always will be.

"Where are we even going?" Tess asked. "The ruins are locked from our side, and we'll free to death out here."

"I know where we're going," Undyne assured her, waiting for them to catch up impatiently. Their footsteps gave them away, and Undyne only hoped that Lionheart would not think to search the snowy area before the entirety of Waterfall. By then the footsteps would've been covered by other footsteps or snow. "We just have to get there."

They travelled on, and on, passing many sentry posts on the way. Thank goodness that today was the sentry's day off, Papyrus knew that because Sans himself was a sentry and Papyrus memorised his timetable. He knew the sentries' movements off by heart, which was very useful information to three fugitives. The skeleton boy also memorised the marked territories where the sentries travelled, which were the safest, but Undyne knew that in the surrounding coniferous trees were pathways not a monster dared to travel by. Dangerous routes that were forbidden, and lead to some undiscovered lands. Only a few dared to venture to the lower levels of the underground forest, and Undyne was one of those monsters.

She recalled the time, long ago, when her father took her down the cliff down to the lower forest, where not a soul fluttered. The massive dog had shown her the broken stone fundaments of a previous civilisation, before the monsters were trapped down in the underground. Undyne could still picture the non-monster ruins in her mind, remembering how she's played in them with her father, his white fur almost indistinguishable in the surrounding snow.

If only her mother hadn't grown dark and ran off with her father's brother. Where was that wraith lady now? Probably happy with her uncle in New Home...

Papyrus and Tess' groans recalled Undyne from her musings. They had started to complain of the cold, shivering against the sudden wind that had picked up. It blew relentlessly at them, taking the lighter snow off the top of the ground and threw it back up into the air. Undyne flinched as she realised that snow had began to fall. From where? Nobody knew. It just fell, despite the stone ceiling many, many metres above. But it was carried horizontally, wailing and howling loudly.

The travelling three were horribly exposed, the snow landing on skin, scales and bones, once melted thanks to body heat it soaked through, the chill creeping in. Hypothermia was coming for them.

"Undyne we can't travel in this blizzard!" Tess yelled, raising her patchwork hood over her head only to have it blown off again. Undyne could barely see her through the white, and her voice was drowned out by the loud wind.

The snow had began to fall so fast it was impossible to see five inches in front of you. No matter how determined you are, no matter how patient, the world is sometimes too big.

The vast white nothingness could wear out even the reddest of the human souls. Determination, Perseverance, Justice, Bravery, Integrity, Kindness, Patience... those were just some of the many, many traits human souls characterised by, and it made them strong. Though it was an inside strong. The strength of will.

Monsters, despite having weak white souls not characterised by any particular trait, too had strong wills and hearts.

And in times like these, mere willpower was not enough. No matter how determined or patient you were, muscle strength wears out. Weak legs could not stay standing forever in a strong snowstorm. At a drastic temperature drop organ functions ceased to properly work, and magic refused to work. Hypothermia targeted any living, creature, strong, weak, in between, it didn't matter. Nature can murder, just like we living creatures can.

Undyne realised this. They needed shelter, but no way they were going back to Snowdin. Where could they find shelter from the snow?

"Guys! There's something there!" Papyrus shouted to make himself heard throughout the howling wind. His bones were practically invisible in the whiteness, and it looked like just a red scarf and clothes were hanging around an invisible man. A red glove pointed to a structure in the distance. Undyne shook the snow from her eyelashes and squinted to see the structure barely visible through the snow.

What was it?

"C'mon, maybe we can get shelter there," Tess whispered through chattering teeth. Her hands rubbed at her arms, trying to get some warmth into them, though her bottom lip had already gone a horrible shade of blueish-purpleish. "We really need to get out of this cold."

The fish wanted to protest, but she herself shivered when the snow pelted at her delicate scales. She was adapted to water for goodness' sake, not ice. "Then let's get a move on," she growled in grim determination, leading her two comrades through the whirling snow, narrowed eyes to keep sight of the fuzzy image of the sentry post. The snow beneath the feet thickened, and the wind kept threatening to shove them off their balance.

It took the trio to reach the sentry post, and they scrambled into the enclosed wooden structure. First went Undyne, followed closely by Tess and then by Papyrus. It was not a large sentry post, and only provided shelter from three sides and the top, where the children settled themselves between the many bottles of ketchup, mustard and relish that were also sitting idly inside.

Despite still sitting in snow and the occasional snowflakes that fluttered in, the three young kids instantly felt a little warmer. They huddled together tightly to preserve body heat and keep each other warm. Their breaths still came out in puffs of vapour, and their teeth still chattered, but it was something.

Undyne knew that it would take a couple of hours for the storm to pass to allow them safe passage, as it always did with underground blizzards, so their evacuation had to be delayed. To think that this underground housed biomes so different from each other no more than a few kilometres away from each other, it was just incredible.

Tess began to shuffle, and plucked something from her patchwork jacket pocket. Her slightly busted MP3 player, the one Undyne and she always listened to songs. That was the way it had been for the past thirteen months.

Thirteen months? Had it really been that short? Undyne had somehow felt like Tess had always been there by her and Papyrus' sides, the life before Tess came now a blur. Those cries of bullies, the days were she looked to Lionheart for comfort, the loneliness of loosing both parents in one night, one to jail and the other to betrayal and lust. Papyrus and Tess were like a replacement to everything she had lost.

So Tess unplugged the tangled earphones and scrolled through her library, putting on a song that Undyne loved. It was quiet, and the wind drowned out most of the notes and lyrics, but it could still be hear, quieter than ever before. Though listening to the human song calmed down not only Undyne and Tess, but soon Papyrus started to bob his head along to the beat, getting himself comfortable as for sleep.

So Undyne the Undying, Papyrus the Skeleton and Tess Ashby stayed cooped up in the sentry station for the remainder of the day, and well into the night, were the storm hurled around them furiously. But its loud and cold and brash nature couldn't reach the now sleeping children, asleep to the soft sound of the playing MP3, lulling them to sleep like a mother's lullaby, someone each of the three lacked for quite some time.

Goodnight.

* * *

Lionheart arrived in Snowdin in a quick step, eager to finally find the kids and put an end to their miserable lives. Each and every one of them was to die at his paws, all three of them were to be slaughtered. It didn't matter in which order, it just needed to happen.

But once he arrived, he was greeted with an unwelcome sight.

The residents of Snowdin were preparing, calling the children inside, and the monsters retreating inside. Lionheart's ear flicked in confusion, and he stepped up to a small rabbit girl, who held her sister by the arm.

"What's happening around here?" he asked the girls gently. The two were flustered that the great lion hero had addressed them.

"A snowstorm's coming!" said the white-furred kit, one of her long ears flopping over her face. "We're getting inside so that none of us freeze to death."

"It's a pretty bad one too," added her purple-furred sister, doing a better job of keeping her ears standing straight. "Mamma says that it's the worst one we had in three years!"

Lionheart's soul twisted in disappointment. If he couldn't search Snowdin thanks to a stupid blizzard, then he could never find those three pathetic kids. However he kept his anger bottled up deep within him.

"And how long will the storm last?" asked he, putting on his calmest voice, the one he always used when talking to innocent children.

Though that voice would not be used once he got his paws on those traitorous kids.

The rabbit sisters replied in unison. "We don't know! Jinx! Sometimes a few hours, sometimes an entire week! Jinx again!"

"Molly! Polly! Come inside!" called a rabbit doe from Snowed Inn, her nose twitching anxiously, no doubt scenting the coming snowstorm. "Oh! Lionheart! You're here?"

"I must be going," Lionheart replied quickly. "But I'll be sure to visit this wonderful town again soon."

The two sisters ran from his side and disappeared into the inside, the door shutting loudly behind them. Lionheart stared back with cold eyes.

He needed to free them all. When Asgore shatters the barrier, he would be sure to be ready. Asgore couldn't murder the entire human population himself after all.

So it looked like Lionheart would have to wait until the blizzard had passed to find these kids. Who knew in which house they were hiding out in? Any one was a suspicion. The lion growled to himself and stalked towards Grillby's, were he decided he would wait out the storm with the rest of Snowdin's residents.

The very instant the blizzard was over, Lionheart would begin his search. He would not rest until his hands were covered in red blood and white dust.


	9. Chapter 8: Down The Cliffs

Sans teleported into Grillby's, a little annoyed at himself. His younger brother had run off when he was busy talking with Lionheart, and Sans couldn't find him anywhere. Gaster hadn't seen him, nor did anybody in New Home. The older skeleton had expected Papyrus to run through the lower Hotland neighbourhoods but evidently he'd taken the shortcut through the Core. How many times had he told him not to take shortcuts through their father's invention? It was dangerous in there, power surges and smoke and toxins hung in the air like the poisonous gases they were. Papyrus could be dumb sometimes.

Sans had looked all over the lab for him, but found that the small skeleton wasn't hiding in even his best hiding spots. There was no skeletons in the closet to find. The blue skeleton had even gone down into the True Lab to ask Gaster about it, but even if Papyrus had been there the Royal Scientist wouldn't've seen him. He was too focused on making tweaks to the Determination Extraction Machine to even notice anybody going about him. But even if Papyrus was here, which he mostly likely wasn't, he wasn't there anymore.

Next Sans tried to get into Undyne's neighbourhood, but was welcomed by a fire of ectoplasm by two very angry-looking ghosts. They screeched, shrieked and screamed so loudly they blew out Sans' inexistent eardrums. He tried teleporting to the front of Undyne's door, but even that seemed impossible. The ghost cousins had gone into a rage, infuriated by something, or someone.

Sans knew what had happened. Both of the ghosts had gone unstable. It was quite easy for a soul to go unstable, though his own soul kept its stable status always.

When a soul went unstable, the monster or human's power became amplified. It sounded like a good thing, and it would be if it wasn't for the other detail of unstable souls. Those souls... they lost all feeling of morality and if extremely unstable they could even forget who they are. Gaster's soul had gone unstable once or twice, but that was just on the brink. The ghost cousins were furious, and by that logic, unstable.

There was nothing Sans could do for them now. They were together, and they would return back to stableness once they've calmed down.

Just what had infuriated them so much to cause them to loose themselves this way?

And Snowdin was swept away by a blizzard, making it all the more difficult for Sans to look for Papyrus. He'd have to wait out the storm if he wanted to search the one place where Papyrus would most likely be.

So instead Sans decided to wait out the coldness in his favourite place in the winter town. Grillby's Diner.

But what he didn't expect was the sight of the golden-maned Royal Guard Captain to be sitting at the front counter, deep in thought while he absent-mindedly chowed down the jumbo burger. Why was he here?

Sans sat down next to him, careful not to disturb his train of thought. He might be contemplating his next move to catch the human. He held up three fingers at Grillby's, and the fire monster man nodded his head and disappeared to the back.

"What do you know of Patience?" Lionheart suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

Sans shouldn't've been as surprised as he was. Due to the 'Missing Papyrus' fiasco he'd forgotten all about Ashby and that he had told him all about her. He nodded his head firmly.

"What I told you, she's innocent, fast and has a strong allegiance with monsters around her."

Lionheart shrugged his massive shoulders. "You've been watching her for a while, haven't you?"

Sans blinked. How did he know...?

His friend took a bite out of his burger before answering Sans' question. "You're protective of your little brother, everyone knows. You keep track of who he's friends with, and no doubt Patience was one of his few friends."

There was something about Lionheart's tone Sans did not like. Usually he himself had that effect of fear, but for as calm and relaxed the lion seemed to be, he was too calm for Sans' liking.

He knew Lionheart ever since they were little- they played together in the valleys on the surface before the war. And if he knew anything about his life-long friend, was that he was never calm. He was always booming, laughing and cheering, happily or angrily. If there was a word to describe Lionheart, it was loud.

Lionheart was not calm. Lionheart was not focused. Lionheart was not quiet. He didn't do meditating, he didn't do thought out missions, he didn't ask much questions.

The Captain of the Royal Guard was known for his quick attacks and unbeatable process in battle. When Bravery mowed through the sentries over three decades ago, Lionheart did not hesitate to jump to battle with him. He did not plan out his attack. He had only one plan- attack. And somehow, just somehow, Lionheart's courage outdid even Bravery's. Now the wretched orange soul was locked away in Asgore's castle with the others, waiting for the last two. The only human death Sans was genuinely sad about was Amanda's, the cowboy woman with the Justice soul that Sans had grown quite friendly with before she stupidly tried to take on Asgore. But that was beside the point.

Lionheart did not plan ahead. Lionheart was now.

"He's my brother Lionfart," said Sans after his moment of doubt. "Of course I worry about him. He's gone missing and I don't know where he's gone."

"Such a shame," Lionheart mumbled, continuing to eat.

Though there was no sympathy in Lionheart's tone. Only coldness. The skeleton was a little taken aback by his total lack of emotion- usually Lionheart would show concern if something was wrong with Sans' life. He had told him about Papyrus' struggle and Gaster's distance, and each time Lionheart was a source of comfort.

So why was he so cold and distant now?

Eventually, when Sans had taken a sip of his beloved ketchup, he couldn't help the question that was gnawing at him.

"What the heck is up with you man? I know I've told you about Patience, but-"

"The brat had escaped before I could get to her," Lionheart answered his question before Sans even got a chance to finish. "They are somewhere in Snowdin, the two ghosts... told me."

"They?"

"Patience, the wraith girl and your brother."

Sans shuddered. So Papyrus warned them... Drat! Why did Sans bring him to his conversation with the captain? Of course it would be hard on the little skeleton to take in. He didn't want any harm to come to someone he'd quarrelled with a few moments before. Why must he be so kind-hearted?

He should've left without a word and now Papyrus would be safe and the Ashby would be gone.

So that's why Lionheart was so concerned. Papyrus had gone and warned those girls! He was concerned for Papyrus' safety.

"Drat this storm," growled Sans. "I'll come help you if my brother is in danger."

"No."

Once again Sans was taken aback. "What?"

Lionheart's amber gaze turned towards him. "Sans you have one health point. You may be fast. You may be agile. You may be powerful." His side teeth showed. "But you can't dodge forever. You can't stay awake forever. One hit and you're gone."

The skeleton shuddered.

"That human is dangerous. She has a murderous fish at her side, and now your brother- who may I say is stronger than you ever give him credit for." Lionheart flattened his rounded ears. "Those three children are willing to fight to the death. They are willing to give all their blood and sweat for the others. If one dies, the whole trio falls apart."

"What are you saying?"

Lionheart hesitated for a moment.

"Separate them," he eventually said. "It will be a difficult task since they know I'm after Patience and no doubt they will stay together like glue. But nothing is too difficult to me."

But something was wrong. So happened to be that Sans was one of the monsters that knew how to weed out lies between dialogue, no matter how well hidden.

Whatever Lionheart was planning, it certainly wasn't separation. What was it to him if both Patience and the wraith were killed? The price of one monster soul was small for such a powerful human soul. And if Lionheart would be forced to he would have to kill...

"Well, you do you, pal," Sans shrugged, pretending not to be bothered by Lionheart's sudden change of personality. "I won't get in your way. Just make sure Papyrus is safe."

Lionheart dipped his head. "I'll do everything in my power to get Papyrus away from Patience."

There was that hint of lying again...

But Sans lied too. He had said that he would not get in Lionheart's way.

* * *

The snowstorm raged for three whole days. The wind howled angrily and the snow continued to pelt at every exposed thing it could touch. At some points all you could see was pitch white, not able to distinguish even your own nose.

Coldness... It was so cold...

But by some strange miracle the three hiding in the sentry post had survived. Their souls were still beating- the organs were still functioning and the magic was still working.

They had lived off of the condiments they had found in the sentry post. Not ideal, but able.

Their body heat had severely decreased, but it was still there, shared between the three. It was all there was to need.

The snowstorm ended as quickly as it came. With no warning and instantly. The last few snowflakes fell and once again there was silence.

Like usual, Undyne was the first to wake. The fish shook any frost from her scales and tore herself away from the firm grasp of her two sleeping friends. A soft gasp escaped from her, and two major emotions flooded her.

Happiness and fear.

Happiness because they could finally move again. Fear because so could Lionheart.

"Rise and shine you two!" Undyne yowled at them, clambering out of the sentry station to stretch her contracted muscles. Being cooped up in such a small space for such time was not good for muscles.

"It's not snowing anymore?" Papyrus followed her lead. Thankfully he didn't have the problem of still muscles, mostly because he didn't have any. But instead his joints were a little stiff, and soon he too was stretching with Undyne.

Tess on the other hand sat on the sentry station and began to drink the remains of ketchup they had not finished. Her silver eyes watched the two monster children sadly, as if contemplating.

"You... You guys don't have to come with me," she said finally.

The fish bared her teeth at her. "What are you blabbing about Tessy? Of course we're coming with you! You're a weak human, and you need monsters to protect you!" Papyrus gave a chuckle in his signature laugh to emphasise her point.

But the human shook her head. "You have duties though, families that are worried about you. I... I just fell down here and messed everything up! I've got nothing down here except my own skin. Undyne you have school, your house and Mettaton and Napstablook to take care of. You have your whole life before you, a great future on the surface if you ever get there! Papyrus, your family is probably turning the whole underground inside and out looking for you! Are you willing to throw it all away for me?"

Undyne nodded her head instantly, though Papyrus took some hesitation.

Tess shook her head again. "Why would you? All I am is an obstacle. Maybe I should let Lionheart kill me and take my soul- at least that way you'll be only one away from taking down that wretched barrier."

"Pass the ketchup," was all Undyne said. Tess wordlessly tossed her the bottle. The fish caught it and took a massive swig of it as if drinking alcohol.

Though the skeleton began to get worried. "You're not thinking of letting her commit assisted suicide, are you Undyne?" he asked her urgently.

Undyne didn't answer at first, just kept drinking.

"This whole evacuation was stupid!" Tess threw her arms in the air. "You two are in trouble because of me, and you're throwing away future just for some filthy human being. You know that right? I am the most worthless character this stupid game has to offer!"

Finally the fish stopped drinking. She took the bottle away from her lips and held it out to Papyrus. "Hold my beer," said she.

"That's not-"

"Just hold it!"

Confused, Papyrus took the red bottle and watched worriedly as Undyne marched up to Tess.

"You want to see how worthless I can be?" Undyne yelled at the human, fins pressed tightly against her head in anger. Tess flinched and shrunk away from her, but Undyne had jabbed a finger close to her face so all she could really do was lean slightly back. "My own mother left me and my dad for his brother! She didn't give a damn about me! The kids in school, they hated me for reasons I didn't even know! When it comes down to stuff, I can barely do anything! All I'm good for is war, that is it!"

"Undyne that isn't true! You're-"

But Undyne wasn't finished. "You know what, I actually thought of turning you in to Asgore so that perhaps we monsters could be one step closer to the surface, but I didn't! You get that Ashby? I. Didn't. Turn. You. In! Imagine all the glory I would face if I had gotten a human to Asgore, but I turned it all away."

"Shut up!" Tess yelled back at her, tears glistening at her silver eyes. "Please, shut up!"

"No I will not shut up!" Undyne made an inhuman growling noise. "You know how lonely it was without you or Papyrus? Very! I was alone! All alone!" She shook her whole self. "Now what? Was that all for nothing? You were a big part in bringing the three of us together, and now you want to throw it all away?"

There was rage reflected in Undyne's golden cat-like eyes.

"You are not turning yourself in to Asgore or god forbid Lionheart! If you do, you'll have to fight me to the death first!"

"Undyne I'm not gonna fight you to the death!" Tess yowled.

"Be quiet!" Papyrus tried to shut up the arguing duo. "We're wasting time! Lionheart will be here any moment."

"Go home Papyrus! Go home Undyne!" the human shouted, not paying attention to Papyrus at all. "I won't let you guys come with me!"

"Yes you will!" Undyne snapped loudly. "We're coming with you whether you like it or not!"

"Stop arguing for christ's sake!" Papyrus shut up the girls at last by raising his voice slightly. "The storm's stopped, and Lionheart's coming! Let's get going before he finds us and kills us all!" He panted after his outburst, and the trio once again fell silent.

They needed each other, whether they liked it or not.

Patience mumbled a quiet apology, and once again the three were on the move.

Undyne knew the way. She lead them away from the main pathways and through the dark and dank trees. She told them to step in her footprints so nobody could track them. If they just found one set of footprints they would think a sentry had gone for a stroll.

For a few minutes they travelled in silence, the air still around them so thankfully their scent would not carry on for any tracker to smell. Looked like the odds were on their side for once.

But suddenly Undyne stopped, barking the order of 'halt' to her compadres. Her fins flicked, allowing the two following her to stand at her sides.

They had come to a cliff, at least nine hundred metres in height, or depth because this was the underground. You could really see the edges of the underground's rigid walls, as well as every treetop. The winter underground forest was stunningly beautiful.

The lower level was completely uninhabited, due to being so far down that it was too dangerous to make the way down. The cliff was vertical and sharp with frost-shattered rocks, and most monsters could not make their way down there unless they had the power of teleportation or flight.

So happened to be that was where the trio were headed. But the problem was getting down the ring of cliffs. Neither Undyne, Papyrus or Tess had the power of teleportation or flight, so their only option was to climb down the vertical cliff, so high above the lower level it was ridiculous.

"How in the world are we gonna get down there?" Papyrus asked the question first, taking an instinctive step back away from the tall drop. "There's no way we can climb down a cliff that steep! Not to mention it's as high as something called Angel Falls! That's what the waterfall on the surface is called, right?" Tess nodded her head.

Undyne had not thought about that. When she went down there with her father, he had engineered makeshift wings that allowed him to glide. Now those makeshift wings were somewhere Undyne did not know where. But sure as hell she wasn't going back for them now.

But Papyrus was right. They couldn't climb down such a cliff.

This was a dead end.

"Can't you two make a staircase with your fancy powers?" Tess piped up suddenly.

The two monsters stared back at her. Of course!

Though it would be dangerous. One false step and they could fall to their deaths. Best not to think about it.

The fish snapped her fingers, and ten blue spears emerged from the side of the cliff in a staircase. Papyrus clapped his hands and a further five bones appeared in the same manner, extending the stairs further.

This was going to be a long climb down.

Like usual, Undyne went first. There was nobody more sure-footed than a sea wraith like Undyne. Her hands grasped onto the rock next to her as she went down step by step, hearing the hyperventilation of the human scaredy cat behind her. She could even hear Papyrus' fearful stammering- "don't look down, don't look down."

She herself was a little scared. A fall like that could instantly kill anyone, no matter how high the health points.

When each of them were standing on bones, Undyne's spears shattered into nothingness. Instead the ten spears continued the way down. There was no way back now. When they stepped on the spears, the bones disappeared and then reappeared at the other end.

So the pattern grew on for quite some time, and the three young children were steadily making their way down. Eventually the way up was equally as high as the way down. Halfway down... they were going to make it!

The wind picked up again, and Undyne had to brush her long red hair away from her face to see where she was going. Didn't help that the wind blew at their backs, urging them to go faster.

Suddenly Undyne's foot twisted so her ankle hit the glowing blue spear. She gasped and stumbled, losing her grip on the rocks next to her. She swayed at the end of the spear, leaning back over the edge. She would've managed to regain balance if it wasn't for one thing.

The forgotten bag on her back.

Before they left, Undyne had packed them spare clothes and dry food that they had completely forgotten about. It would've been useful back during the storm, but Undyne was a strong monster, and she forgot there was something on her back at all.

Now the extra weight aided the gravity in pulling her over the edge of the spear. Her feet lost grip and Undyne felt herself falling.

Her ears suddenly lost their sense of hearing as everything went silent around her. Her webbed hands flailed in a lame attempt to grab one of her spears, but her claws were far away from the safety. The glowing magic got further as Undyne's head pointed downwards, towards her downfall.

Suddenly a firm hand grasped her ankle, stopping her fall. Undyne looked up, dangling above certain death.

"It's okay, I've got you," Tess called to her, grasping Undyne's foot with both hands. "I'm not gonna let you die like that. Papyrus, help me up."

The skeleton lean over, shaking, and grabbed Undyne's other foot. The two pulled with all their might, and soon Undyne was back up on the spears, shaking from head to toe.

"Thanks guys," she stammered, trying to regain her cool after the fright of her life. But at least that proved one thing.

She could always count on her friends.

So they continued their way down, this time Papyrus leading the charge while Undyne stepped in the middle incase she stumbled again. Her breathing once again became steady, and Undyne regained her stability as with her confidence.

"Howdy!"

Papyrus screamed and fell back into Undyne, thankfully not to the side where the height was still a threat. Tess screamed too, but only because Papyrus screamed too. Undyne pushed Papyrus back up to his feet, but looked past his shoulder and her eyes set upon a familiar yellow flower, sprouting from the edge of the cliff like an out-of-place tree.

"You?"

"Why golly, why wouldn't it be?" the flower said with a warm smile. "Fancy seeing you three in a place like this!"

The three kids were dumbfounded to see him, and none of them managed to utter a word. The last thing they expected was to see a talking yellow flower sprouting high above ground at the edge of a cliff. How did he even know they were here?

"I just thought I'd pay you a little visit!" Flowey continued cheerfully, as if they were standing on solid ground and not so high up on a cliff. "Golly gosh, you three are brilliant!"

"What do you want?" Undyne asked with a snarl, trying to ignore the memory of Flowey breaking down the door. How effortlessly he'd done it. He could do the same with them. "And how do you know where we were?"

Flowey laughed a high-pitched laugh. "Greeting me with questions, I see? My you need lessons in manners my dearie." He snickered again. "What about the other two precious dears? Aren't you going to give me a warm hello?"

"H-Hello," Tess greeted him as he asked. "Nice view?"

Flowey looked to the wondrous view then back at the human. "Yes, I suppose it is quite nice. I remember I wanted to come down here with my sibling, but we had no way of doing so. Seems like you are more lucky than we were with our powers." The flower chuckled again. "But as to answer your questions, I was just passing by here, and I saw you climb down here as if it were stairs. Quite genius I would say."

Undyne and Tess had relaxed, but Papyrus was still tensed.

He gathered his courage. "What do you want flower? You wanted to steal the human souls from my dad!"

The girls shut up instantly.

"Ah, sharp as ever Papyrus," Flowey cooed, fluttering his leaves like wings. "I was trying to take a peak at what such power looks like! I've never actually seen such things before now!" His dead eyes fluttered towards Tess. "But no worries, my intentions are complete pacifist!"

"Really?" Neither of the three kids were convinced.

Flowey nodded his head. "Of course! I haven't seen this route of all my timelines, and I'm curious on how long you three will last on your own. But I need to have my own part in your little game!"

Suddenly large roots started to emerge from the cliff, tying themselves tightly together in a staircase all the way down to the ground. The three children looked down at the new set of stairs unsurely, then their eyes turned back to the flower.

"There! The way down is clear!" The flower said, using his leaf as an arm to bow to the children as if he were a butler. "Down this way children!"

But the children didn't move.

"How do we know you're not gonna kill us?" Undyne asked.

Flowey's eyes narrowed. "Because if I wanted to I'd have done it already. I would've killed each of you in a heartbeat, cuz I have already done it multiple times. For now, I want to see how fate had planned this to go, so no, you three will not die at my hands. Now come along before I change my mind."

So the children wasted no time and picked up their pace to make their way down, this time more secure on the stiff roots than their own fragile magic. How such a little flower could have these big tree-like roots was beyond comprehension, but neither Undyne nor her two friends asked the flower any questions in fear of him changing his mind. His tone was calm and friendly, but the words he said were horrible.

At least this strange plant was willing to help them.

Eventually Papyrus took his step on frozen ground again, and breathed a sigh of relief when the stability washed over him. Then came Undyne, and finally Tess, who were glad beyond words that they were once again standing on stable ground. The human fell to her knees then pressed her cheek to the snow, as if giving the earth itself a massive hug.

"Oh ground, I'm never leaving you again!" she stammered.

But Undyne didn't have time to pay her respects to the solid ground beneath her feet. Her eyes fluttered round the dark forest in interest, taking in the untouched beauty willingly. She ran a webbed hand across the bark of a tree, shaking the snow off it.

Nobody would find them here.

"This place is beautiful!" she gasped, willingly taking in the denser air that hung around down there. "We're totally hidden!"

"I'm never going back up to Snowdin," Papyrus joked, then promptly getting hit by a snowball. "Hey!" he growled playfully, and chucked over a snowball at the human, who was already covered in white.

Undyne laughed loudly, tackling them both into the snow. Their laugher echoed round the empty forest, as if the trees were chuckling along with them. Snow was thrown up into the air, and snowballs thrown. For that moment the children were back to being children, as if none of the world around them even mattered. The cold never bothered them, and they played around in it as carefree as dolphins played around in water.

Though none of the three children noticed the flower looking at them with pained eyes, as if he had longed for this very same scenario. He shook his head.

"As much as you are happy to be down here, I must tell you that you are not yet completely safe," Flowey interrupted, disappearing into the cliff and re-emerging from the horizontal ground, shaking the snow off his unfurling petals. "You must find a place to stay. Fortunately I know just the place you three can call home!"

"I thought you were never down here," Tess pointed out as the three children stood their feet and brushed the snow off their clothes. There was something about her that Flowey recognised as absurdly familiar, and he hesitated for a brief moment.

"With my sibling, no. Alone, yes." He nodded his head. "I can take you there. If you'd follow me please."

He disappeared below the ground, then reappeared a few metres off into the depths of the forest. "Come on then you three! It's not that far!"

"Where are we going?" Undyne asked it the next time it appeared.

Flowey gave her a warm smile. "An old hermit used to live here in isolation. But he was so old that he died of age some time ago. Now his house is empty and free for you to move into!"

"Yay!" Tess cheered, running along the snow as if it were just a mere heather-field. "This place is so pretty! I've never known this was down here!" A snowball hit her in the head, and Undyne and Papyrus joined her willingly, once again playing in the snow as if it were just in the enclosed waterfall neighbourhood. Flowey watched with a tortured glare, recalling the time when he was still Asriel and how he'd played with Chara in a similar manner.

History repeats itself.

It didn't matter that her hair was long and dark brown instead of shoulder-length and like melted chocolate. It didn't matter that her eyes gleamed like silver instead of shining like little rubies. It didn't matter that she was called Tess instead of Chara.

So that was why Flowey's instinct told him to help the three children. Alright, it looked like he was going to be doing a pacifist run this time.

In a few moments Flowey lead the kids to their destination.

There was a little cottage in the middle of nowhere, among the snow and dark trees. The house was docile, constructed entirely out of cobblestone and dark wood so it looked like straight out of a Brother's Grimm fairytale. A slow river ran by it, strangely not carrying any signs of freezing. In truth the river was carrying a hot current from Hotland. The river did a loop round the underground, how peculiar.

For now the cottage was dark and disused ever since the hermit's passing, but now it offered the children a place to stay. A perfect home for weary travellers.

"Oh my... it's beautiful!" each of the children gasped in awe, not believing that something so beautiful could be so undiscovered.

Flowey smiled genuinely at them. "The hermit left a key under the doormat."

Undyne wasted no time. She leapt up excitedly onto the porch, and reached under the doormat. Surely there was an ancient-looking key under there, one that looked like to castle entrances. Undyne held it up to the dim light of the snow to examine it before she put it in the keyhole and turned. The lock clicked and the door swung inwards.

The interior was basic and exactly what you'd expect from a hermit. Everything was so old-fashioned too. A stone fireplace was directly below the chimney, and the wooden floor had many upon many scratches at it. But for as old as the place seemed to be, it did have an entrance to another two rooms, a ladder to the attic and kitchen equipment as well as a sofa that was still holding up.

"Oh my..." Undyne breathed, letting herself into the cold place. It was all busted, unkempt and destroyed by time and, in Undyne's eyes, perfect.

She could hear the excited and awed gasps of her two friends as they came inside with her. This was their new home.

So the kids went to explore the house, eyes full of wonder while Flowey pushed through a mouse-hole and watched with great curiosity. Now he understood what Toriel and Asgore felt like.

"I bug this room!" Papyrus called, already claiming the leftmost room as his own. Undyne had done the same with the other room while Tess settled down in the attic. It took them a while, but once again the fire was crackling in the fireplace, filling the place with the smell of burning wood and welcomed warmth. Once again the abandoned hut burst to life with three new inhabitants.

While Undyne got to cooking some food, Tess turned to the watching Flowey. The flower was about to dig himself into the earth once again and find someone else to bother when the girl sat down cross-legged in front of him. The flower looked up at her.

"Thank you Flowey," said she. "You really helped us."

"Of course I did!" Flowey laughed. "Why, did you doubt me?"

Tess shook her head. "I just wanted to thank you. I don't know what we'd be doing now if you hadn't helped us."

"No need to thank me," Flowey shook his head. "I've done my share. Time for me to go. Bu-bye!"

With that Flowey disappeared off into the earth, to be seen again.

* * *

A few days later the three children had grown used to living in the lower level of the snowlands. The hermit who lived there before turned out to have a stash of food that was still within the expiry date. As for the surrounding area, only Tess dared to venture. Undyne had to take care of the house and Papyrus was too scared come with.

The little girl had ventured through forest all her life, on the surface and below ground. She loved this dark forest, and she already considered it her home. It was strange how quickly she could consider a new area her new home. Perhaps since she never had a proper home in the first place, she was able to accept the whole world as her home.

Once again she fled out into the open to explore her new surroundings. Tess would never wonder too far from home, at least not alone. Even when she did venture further out along with Papyrus and Undyne, they left behind a trail of river-stones so they would never get lost.

But now Tess wanted to explore away from the cliff. She had never been this direction before, but she was curious. What would she find here?

There was no life other than Tess in the forest. No snow dogs, no birds, no breathing. It was just as Tess had expected it to be. Cold and lonely. Even time itself seemed to hold its breath.

How beautiful!

The snow crunched beneath her feet with odd satisfaction. Her lungs tingled with the cold air as she breathed it in. A snowflake fluttered at her eyelash, and Tess blinked to set it free.

Perhaps this was the way only a child could see the forest. A child's eye was much better than adults gave them credit for.

So Tess went a little further, still making sure she saw the shining house past the trees. She could go a little further. She had time.

But suddenly something caught Tess' eye. Brown, green, yellow, red. That thing was colourful while all around was merely dark brown, dark and white. That thing was not a tree.

Slowly Tess turned her head towards the thing. Her silver eyes met those red eyes, and a chill went through her entire being.

The other child was no taller than Tess was, wearing a green and yellow striped pullover, shoulder-length chocolate-brown hair still around a round head. Tess could see the forest right through them, and the slight breeze had no effect on them. But the scarlet eyes were burning, not nearly as transparent as the rest of them. But that wasn't as frightening as the blatant fact that this child was not a monster. This was a human child.

They stared at Tess, and Tess stared back silently. The other child looked back to the cottage, then back to Tess, as if asking her something.

Tess looked at her feet, then back to the weird child. "Who are you?"

The spirit nodded. "We are kin."

Kin...?

"What's your name?" Tess tried again.

"I am Chara," said the child. They then gave her a warm smile. "Nice to finally meet you... officially."

Their hand outstretched into a handshake. They looked welcoming. Tess smiled back, and reached out to shake Chara's hand, but her fingers phased through the ghastly hand, unable to grasp it. Just like a ghost.

"Oh, right, I forgot about that," said Chara sadly, dropping their hand, disappointed. "But either way, it's nice to see you."

Tess looked back to glare at her new home, then back to Chara. "Were... were you one of the fallen humans?" she asked.

Chara sighed, then nodded their head. "I would tell you my story, but I'm afraid that's not that important. I've been watching you for a while now, and I must say we are so much like each other."

Tess nodded innocently and padded up to the spirit to sit down in the snow beside them. The spirit gave her a confused glare, but sat down next to her anyway. The girl waited patiently for the spirit to continue, and Chara gave her another puzzled gaze, then chuckled and carried on.

"You grew to love these monsters as much as I have," they continued casually, shifting to sit comfortably even though it didn't really matter for them. "I grew up with a monster for a brother, and you are growing up with a monster for a sister. Isn't fate artistic? History does repeat itself after all."

Tess blinked in understanding, though not understanding Chara at all.

"Watching you, was like reliving old memories, though with a twist. I like watching you Tess, it's just like watching a movie!" They shook their head sadly. "Please tell me you don't have anything against me cheering on your little adventure?"

Thankfully Tess shook her head. "I guess you could count it as an adventure!" She gave the spirit a toothy smile. "An adventure that'll end with us getting to the surface!"

Chara shuddered. "You... do realise that two more humans need to die for that to happen, right?"

Tess deflated. That hadn't occurred to her before. Would she really want two other innocent humans to die while she hid with her friends away from danger? If she never knew them, maybe she wouldn't be so sad about it.

"Yeah, I know, and monsters say it will be a while," said Tess. "Can you go through the barrier, with you being a spirit and all?"

Chara sighed and nodded their head. "I don't like to though. I much prefer it down here. Humanity was... horrible y'know. Seems like you and me were just unlucky enough to be born into this horrific bloodline. Abuse and terrible things run in our family, y'know."

The memories of Tess' father came flooding back. Those awful memories which she had been trying so hard to forget while down in the underground were beginning to surface again. She shook them away.

"But that doesn't mean our whole family is bad!" Tess said optimistically. "Take you, and me, and my brother! He was wonderful! He..."

Her brother was still waiting for her on the surface. Her promise to find him also surfaced.

"He's still waiting for me on the surface," she mumbled, but Chara didn't seem to hear.

They shook their head. "That doesn't mean I dislike them any less. Every goddamn human has a rotten side, even you and me. That's why I hate them all. I even hate myself!"

This time it was Tess who shuddered. "Do you hate me?"

Chara was so shocked they did not answer at first. They sighed sadly. "Not for who you are, but what you were born as. It is possible to hate a species. It's just like hating spiders, you are just able to do so without any remorse." They lay back down into the snow to stare at the rocky ceiling oh so far away. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you. I hate you, but I also like you."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Tess objected.

Chara chuckled again. "Oh please Tessy, where's the fun in making sense? It's what gives this world the unpredictable feeling! If we made sense all the time, everyone would know our next move." Her scarlet eyes turned to look at Tess. "But you don't make much sense either, young one. You were able to move on and trust others even though of what our treacherous kind did to you. I wish I could understand that."

A moment of silence passed, and Tess lay down in the snow next to Chara. It was cold, but it would only be for a little while.

"It was nice talking to you Tess," eventually Chara said. "I'll be watching your progress with great interest I guess." They closed their eyes. "Goodbye, forever."

With those words, Chara faded into the wind. Those scarlet glowing eyes remained for a while longer before they too disappeared.

"Goodbye Chara."

* * *

MISSING

NAME: Undyne the Undying

MONSTER BREED: Sea Wraith

DESCRIPTION: Blue scales with long red hair and cat-like golden eyes, strong and muscly for a small child. Last seen wearing a pale-yellow t-shirt and black leggings.

LAST SEEN: Waterfall, Northern Neighbourhood near the garbage dump.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE GIRL OR HER LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT NAPSTABLOOK OR METATTON AT 2 OR 3, NORTHERN NEIGHBOURHOOD, WATERFALL. THANK YOU.

* * *

MISSING

NAME: Papyrus the Skeleton

MONSTER BREED: Skeleton

DESCRIPTION: Tall, pale bones and long face with tiny black eyes with the ability of glowing red-orange. Last seen wearing a red hoodie and tall red boots.

LAST SEEN: New Home, Strange Alley at Captain Lionheart's house.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOY OR HIS LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT SANS THE SKELETON OR DR. W.D GASTER AT THE ROYAL LAB IN HOTLAND. THANK YOU.

* * *

MISSING

NAME: Tess Ashby

MONSTER BREED: n/a - Human

DESCRIPTION: Long dark brown hair and grey eyes. Last seen wearing a ragged patchwork jacket with ragged trousers and brown hiking boots.

LAST SEEN: Waterfall, Northern Neighbourhood near the garbage dump.

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GIRL OR HER LOCATION, PLEASE CONTACT CAPTAIN LIONHEART AT 1866, STRANGE ALLEY, NEW HOME. THANK YOU.


	10. Chapter 9: Hunt The Human

News of the three children's disappearance spread like wildfire through the underground. How could it be? How could three children suddenly disappear into thin air? There was no places to hide in the underground- every place had been discovered and domesticated, as of the King's knowledge.

Detectives were dispatched, and Snowdogs were sent out to sniff out their scents. The ghost cousins were questioned, as were Sans and Dr. Gaster- the last people to see the children alive and well. While Sans and Dr. Gaster had no idea of the whereabouts, the ghosts told them that they went out one day and didn't come back.

For the next few days monsters searched high and low, in every nook and cranny they knew, for the children couldn't've gone through the barrier. There was no incident like this before. It was like the children had vanished into nothingness.

Their scent was sniffed on the boundaries of Snowdin, but it broke off- giving no concrete leads. It was stale and covered by the snowstorm. The sentries searched the forests once, twice, thrice- yet still there was no sign of the children.

Some monsters have begun to say that the children had died in the storm, but their dust had not been found. There was no evidence whether they were alive or dead, only speculation. It didn't take everyone long to turn the whole investigation into a conspiracy.

Where were the children? Could they have found a way out? Had they really died in that blizzard? The lack of evidence was disturbing and frustrating.

Not even Captain Lionheart knew of the children's location, and he knew the whole underground like the back of his paw. He had lead multiple search parties- on the King's command, and yet none of them had come back with any news. No good news, no bad news.

But there were worrying news. The human among their midst had been revealed, and some monsters were outraged that one of _them_ had been hiding between them as if they were a monster. The classmates who knew Tess Ashby personally, they wailed and growled at themselves for not noticing her obvious humanity sooner.

Some monsters went out looking not for the children- but for her. A group even formed, Lionheart leading it, specifically to be on the prowl for humans. The hunt had begun.

But six years had passed, and soon more and more monsters began to believe that the three had died in the snowstorm. It was just more probable! They couldn't've survived out in the open all that time, hypothermia would've caught them and they would've frozen to death.

Even some of the nastier monsters- the ones on the hunt for the human, had given up and moved on.

Sans did not want to believe that Papyrus was dead. He had looked everywhere, and would still search for him when he was supposed to be on patrol.

His father had become even more distant now, taking in a young yellow lizard as his apprentice as well as himself. He dwelled deeper into science down in the True Lab, where Sans and Alphys, the new girl was called, would help him with his Determination Extraction machine. Sans also tried to forget, but Papyrus was out there, and the thought kept him awake at night.

He had told Alphys all about Papyrus, his friendship and argument with Undyne and Tess, and how they had fled together god knew where. She tried to comfort him the best she could, saying that they had probably found shelter somewhere that couldn't be reached, but somehow Sans found that hard to believe.

Alphys tried her best to cheer up her lab partner, encouraging him to watch her human cartoons with her, doing most of his work for him and even went out with him to look for the lost three children, but nothing seemed to lift Sans' mood. She even went as far to crack a few dry, tasteless puns and skeleton jokes in a desperate attempt to get at least his joking side back on track, but even that was useless.

The older skeleton sat with Alphys at his sentry station after their shift with Dr. Gaster, and after another fruitless search in the snowlands. They had gotten all the way to the cliffs and turned back, knowing they couldn't get down there without great threat.

Sans blanked out, wondering if Papyrus was even alive at all, his dust lost somewhere in the snow. He would've grown up by now, wouldn't he? For some reason Sans could not imagine Papyrus as an adult, about Gaster's height... that was all Sans could imagine. What would he look like as an adult? All Sans could remember was Papyrus in his small stage, about his own height with a squeaky voice and short bones.

And what of Undyne, the wraith girl he'd helped after her family tragedy? She would've grown up as well, but again Sans could not imagine her older than he had last seen her. She would probably look like her mother, except with brilliant blue scales instead of sea-green.

"T-T-T-They have to b-b-be alright, d-d-don't they?" Alphys broke the awkward silence between them at last. "M-M-Maybe they've really found a way out of here? Although that would be impossible." She shivered at her failed attempt at a good comfort. "I-I-I-I'm sure they're alive."

Sans turned his eyes towards her, but said nothing.

"And... And I'm sure they're somewhere in the underground!" Alphys continued, clearly finding it difficult to hold Sans' tortured gaze. "Lionheart will find them! He swore he would!"

But the skeleton shivered when Alphys mentioned his friend's name. He kind of regretted telling him about that human. If he just kept his mouth shut, Papyrus would still be here.

"Between you and me, I think Lionheart will kill all three kids, that is if he finds them," Sans said sadly.

The yellow lizard gasped, her minuscule claws darting to her mouth. "He can't kill monster children! It's against the law!"

"Alphys, you know Lionheart," Sans said, his white pupils disintegrating to emphasise how serious he was. "He will kill everything weaker than himself if it gets in his way, and he has this... obsession with killing humans. Do you realise how passionately he talks about the other two humans that he had murdered?"

His friend didn't want to agree, but she had recalled how Lionheart had reassured Dr. Gaster about what he would do to that human. His tone was so bright and happy that even Sans had to take a moment to process the actual words coming out his mouth. Her look said it all.

"But he can't! Asgore'll-"

"Asgore doesn't know, and he'll never know," Sans snapped at her, and felt guilty when Alphys flinched at his harsh tone. "Lionheart is doing his dirty work for him, and that's all Asgore cares about. He's convinced that Lionheart won't resort to hurting monsters."

"H-H-He won't, will he?"

Sans forced his pupils to return to his eyes. "Lionheart is reckless and unpredictable. I'm just scared of what he'll do if he finds those three before we do."

"Then shall we go on another search? The snowlands are big, and perhaps they've found a way to unlock the ruins?"

Alphys jumped down from her place at the sentry station to crunch into the snow below. She fought to keep her spirits high, but she was shaking- and only partly from the cold. Sans sighed in defeat and followed her lead. At least Alphys was on his side, and he should be grateful for that.

But what if those three were really gone?

* * *

But not at all. The three were safe and sound in the hermit's house down below the cliffs. It was tough living in the harsh snow, eating snow berries from the bushes- and very occasionally sneaking back up the cliffs using magic for climbing to go into town to buy pastries and proper food. Of course it was only Undyne or Papyrus that would go, since Tess did not have magic, and they would throw on a black cloak and a black bandana to hide their identity. They would shift their voice a few pitches lower or higher so the rest of the monsters would not recognise them.

They had gotten quite settled in to that little hermit's house in the isolated lower snowy region, gotten used to the cold and the difficult conditions of life. But that was okay. They were safe from prying eyes and from the claws of Lionheart.

During those six years, the three had grown up. They were not children anymore, but young adults. Each of them had finished their growth spurt and changed a lot.

Undyne was the tallest out of the three, Papyrus only shorter by four centimetres, and Tess was a whole head smaller than them. Undyne's scarlet hair had grown so long it dragged on the ground when it wasn't tied up into a high ponytail, her muscles had been well-worked and a gleaming six-pack was shown on her scaled belly. Her fins had gotten longer, and she had shed her baby teeth- which were now replaced by long shark-like fangs. Papyrus didn't have hair, but his face had gotten longer and his shoulders increased in breadth. His cartilage had developed into strong bone, and he had gotten more sure-footed. And Tess, who had grown into a fine young woman of nineteen years with uneven hair that draped around her shoulders like dark cobwebs and a broad, flattened face.

The three children had gotten so close they were not merely 'friends' anymore, but family. Not in blood, but in bondage.

"I'm home!" Undyne announced her arrival as she stepped into the house, shaking the snow off herself and lowered her black hood and bandana. The house was tidied, just like Papyrus had promised, and the fireplace crackled loudly.

"Hi Undyne!" Papyrus greeted her from his place on the couch. His voice was no longer the high-pitched squeaking, it had gotten deeper into a pure tenor. "What did ya get?"

Undyne dropped the two huge white plastic bags of food onto the wooden table and began to take off her shoes. "Two whole bags of healthy food! I'm gonna be preparing soup for the next few weeks, so better get ready!"

"Hiya Undyne!" shouted Tess, hanging upside down from the entrance to her attic. Her hair hung down due to gravity, and there was a tic of excitement in her eyes. She looked a lot like an upside down mole. "Did I hear you'll be preparing soup?"

Undyne laughed at her. "Of course! I was getting tired of eating those bland snow-berries."

"How is it up there?" Papyrus asked, sitting up on the couch. "Did you see Sans?"

It was not that hard to see that Papyrus missed his brother greatly, but he kept on comforting himself that he would be reunited with him someday. Just like Tess, who had missed her own brother too.

Undyne shook her head apologetically. "Sorry Papyrus, didn't see him, but I did have a close run in with Lionheart.

Her announcement caused Tess fall through the hole in the ceiling and Papyrus to stand to his feet.

"Did he recognise you?" both of them demanded at once. "Were you followed?"

Undyne shook her head, red hair waving as she did so. "No, but he asked if I saw the three missing children anywhere. Of course I said that I hadn't seen them, and that they were probably dead."

Papyrus nodded his head as Tess picked herself up from the floor. "We're not little children anymore," said Tess eventually. "But of course we need to be careful. In the end, Undyne's still Undyne, Papyrus' still Papyrus, and I'm still me."

Tess was nervous. So what that they had managed to hide for so long? What if she died before the barrier was destroyed? Monsters lived much longer than humans did, and if that was the case, if she had to leave Papyrus and Undyne behind, would it all be for nothing? She didn't want it to be for nothing. She had promises to keep: to Ben, to Papyrus and, perhaps most importantly, to Undyne.

"Don't worry," Undyne placed her webbed hands onto Tess' sagging shoulders. "Lionheart will take a million years to find us here, and even if he does find us, we'll fight him."

Now it was possible. Both Undyne's and Papyrus' magic had developed along with them, getting more and more powerful with each coming year. While Papyrus' magic still shattered upon contact, he had mastered blue 'don't move' magic, and was now able to turn both Undyne's soul and Tess' soul a deep blue, so he could throw them back into a wall or such. But still that wasn't as impressive as Undyne's magic.

The Sea Wraith could summon glowing blue spears just at thought, between her hands or from the ground. She too could change the colour of souls, but instead to green, which prevented the other from fleeing the battle. It was quite useful indeed.

But the human wasn't defenceless. Undyne had trained Tess well, so that she was skilled in using branches, bones or spears as her weapons.

They were well prepared if the worst would come to be.

"I know," Tess sighed, pressing her face to Undyne's hard torso, asking for support and comfort. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"Oh lay off Tessy," Undyne told her, wrapping her big arms around her. "You've been blaming yourself for six years, give it up already."

"It's us three together," Papyrus added, joining in the group hug. "Till the very end."

"Anyways," Undyne changed the subject after a few seconds, breaking apart the hug. "May I take your order?"

Papyrus and Tess managed to snicker before they both replied- "vegetable soup" in unison, since it was the three's favourite and they hadn't had it for a while.

So Undyne unpacked with the help of her two housemates and started to prepare. To her, and she was sure to the other two as well, life on the higher levels was just a distant memory she liked coming back to. She had realised that neither she, nor Tess, nor Papyrus actually mattered, and they weren't needed at all. Yet they still hid from the danger that surrounded them like hibernating bears in a cave. Except they weren't predators. They were prey.

Her mind got lost in thought so much that she started to stir the soup slowly. Papyrus was quick to point that out.

"I thought you were always supposed to stir fast and cook it on the highest setting," he said, confused. Tess laughed along with him.

"Careful Undyne, you're cooking the soup correctly!"

These two was all she had, and she liked it that way. Her fin twitched as she remembered the absolute urgency they had fled with, through the snowstorm and down the cliffs all those years back. The fear still plagued some of her dreams, even after laying low for all this time.

"Aight punks, I gat this," Undyne huffed, rubbing her talons together as she shook the unpleasant memory from her head. "Time to teach you how to properly cook a good meal! Fu-huh-hu!"

With that Undyne cranked up the heat and started stirring so fast her whole arm turned into a blur. It had gotten so hot that the whole soup had caught on fire. The watching duo did nothing for a few seconds, enjoying the display before they interfered and prevented Undyne from setting the whole house on fire.

"Howdy!"

None of the three were surprised to hear the fourth voice. Unlike them, the flower monster had not changed a bit. He visited them once each year to make sure they were still alive and well. Despite doubting the flower's pacifism and not thinking that he would do anything shall anything go wrong, Flowey was a welcomed guest in the three's house. Once again his yellow head popped through the mouse-hole and his voice squeaked like the critters that lived inside.

"My my, you three have grown a lot since the last time I saw you!" said the flower happily. "It really is a shame that I've decided on doing a pacifist run, I would've liked to put you three to the test!"

Like with the River Person's head-spinning ability, a normal person would've been terrified of such talk, but by this point in time the young adults had gotten so used to the flower's cheerful death threats that it ceased to phase them. Instead, the three welcomed the plant guest willingly. Papyrus had brought the old plant pot from the windowsill and put it next to the flower, who knew the drill and slithered into it. It took some time for him to adjust his roots to the strange dirt, but Papyrus had already carried him to the table, where he could get a better view.

"How's the upper levels Flowey?" Tess asked, sitting down on the chair beside him. The flower fluttered his leaves before he answered.

"Boring as hell. I honestly am tired of being trapped down here," he replied truthfully. "It's the same everyday." He shook his head wearily. "But did you know that the tragedy of the missing children is still very popular, even after all this time?"

"Yes, we know," Undyne muttered grimly, giving the soup a furious stir. "I've just had Lionheart mewling to me about it."

"Ah, so you've just been up there I see?" Flowey cooed. "Captain Lionheart sure doesn't like being beaten! He'll be searching for you until the day he dies."

"Oh bugger off," snapped Undyne as Papyrus also sat down at the table. "We don't need you to remind us that we're one step away from death."

Tess shuddered and stood to her feet. "One step away from death? I guess that's a nice way of putting it." She took out four bowls from the cupboard, left there by the hermit. Even though they were faded like the cutlery, mugs and plates, they were still functional and without much damage. Tess held one of them up to the light. The blue pattern on the porcelain was almost completely rubbed off now, just like the blue sky from her memories. "Quite prophetic, isn't it? If by the small chance we do survive-" she started to lay the table. "I'd like to tell my brother all about it." She stuffed her hand into the pocket of her patchwork jacket. She had grown out of it, but thanks to using old cloth that was around the hermit's house she managed to sew the sleeves and torso longer, though it was still ragged and messy. "Have you three ever seen the sky?"

Papyrus looked at Flowey, and Flowey looked at Papyrus while Undyne stopped her stirring for a moment. Undyne raked her memory, but then she remembered that she was born in the underground, and Papyrus was only a few months old at the time of the war.

"It was a long time since I'd seen the sun," Flowey confessed, flattening his petals against his face. Tess blinked at him.

"It's a big ball of gas ninety-three million miles away," Tess said. "I wonder when I'll see it again."

She pulled the MP3 Player from her pocket. It was still working, all these years later. Still playing the same thirty songs over and over and over again. Sighing, she shoved the MP3 Player back into her destroyed pocket, deciding that silence was best for now.

"But then again, I like the moon and stars more," said she, sitting back down. "There's something about night that I loved. Still love. I'd like to show all of you a completely cloudless night sky some day."

"Sans always talks about stars," Papyrus put in, playing with his spoon absent-mindedly. "What are they like?"

"They're stamped out into the black sky like cookie-cutter designs, sometimes falling, twinkling like the rocks on the Waterfall ceiling," Tess explained as Undyne served the soup. "And the moon watches them all, at least that's what Ben used to say. He said that the moon is the stars' caretaker, and whenever someone was distressed on earth, the moon would send down one of its stars to grant a single wish. Of course, the stars didn't want to grant wishes, so they fell from the sky and just stayed on earth instead, posing as different earthen creatures of the night. At least that's what Ben used to say."

"We used to have myths like that too!" Papyrus told her. "There's this one legend Gerson used to tell us."

For the first time Undyne's face brightened. "About an angel that's seen the surface returning to set us all free."

"It's more like a prophecy," Flowey interrupted. "I've heard it many times too. It's meant to be a symbol of hope, but I doubt it will ever be fulfilled."

"Prophecies, schmophesies," Undyne swatted her hand. "Let's eat!"

* * *

The white hills of the upper snowlands were still and windless. The trees around provided shadows, the darkness already thickening.

A single ember flame travelled through the cold forest, his warmth melting the snow around him and his amber light cast shadows across the already deserted forest. The forest wasn't as calm as it used to be, with the children missing and everyone rushing around looking for them. But now as night fell the forest went quiet once again.

Grillby liked it when it was quiet, unlike in his bar, where everyone was talking and loud and cracking puns. The forest was cool and soulless, nobody there to disturb him. He reached a flaming hand into his pocket and pulled out a single cigarette and placed it into his mouth. He placed the tip of his finger to the end of the cigarette, causing it to start to smoke. Grillby puffed out a cloud of smoke as he sighed. He always smoked when he was nervous.

He shouldn't be though. It's been six years. Shouldn't the agony of the tragedy fade, just like after every tragedy? Grillby rubbed the pure white eyes under his glasses with the palm of his hand. Gaster was distressed. Sans was distressed. Everyone was distressed. It was strange. It was frustrating. It was disturbing. The main topic Grillby would hear at his restaurant was still the missing children's incident, or conspiracies or theories about the subject.

Some said that the children had managed to pass through a blindspot in the barrier, others believed they had died in the snowstorm. Some even stated that the children weren't real and were just a myth drummed up by the storytellers like Gerson.

Personally, Grillby thought the children were dead. There was no way they could've survived a snowstorm without freezing over. Even a fire creature like Grillby would've met his doom in a blizzard.

He looked up and exhaled deeply. It was so long since the monster have set foot on the surface. The children that were born at the time of the war had all grown up now, and more were born. Some monsters never even got to see the surface, and died of age. Grillby shuddered. He wanted to see the surface again before he met his end.

Suddenly a twig snapped, the loud noise echoing through the forest. Some underground birds have taken off as a result, startled by the sound. So was Grillby.

The sound was loud. The sound was close. Was there someone in the forest with him? Eh, it was probably a sentry.

But then Grillby realised that the sentries were all at his place, enjoying the ends of their shifts. He froze over. Then who...?

Grillby quickly hit behind a tree from the moving creature, praying that it wouldn't notice his amber light. Who was it? He dared to lean out from behind his hiding place.

The forest was dark, but the hooded creature was even darker. It looked like the River Person, except its cloak was navy, and this creature's cloak was black. Grillby could even swear he saw blue scales below the hood. The creature was carrying two huge white bags, filled with what looked like food. The hands that were carrying them could be seen, claws glistening like silver and scales the colour of deepest blue.

Grillby recognised the strange person. They have been coming to Snowdin town for supplies for quite some time. Six years to be exact...

Nobody knew who they were. But now Grillby could recognise the movements as feminine yet bulky, blue scales peaking through here or there. It was a Sea Wraith woman.

A Sea Wraith...?

One of the missing children was a Sea Wraith. And not just any wraith. A female Sea Wraith the colour of ocean.

Could this be Undyne the Undying?

Whoever she was, the figure didn't seem to notice him. She just rushed away into the darkness.

Instantly intrigued, Grillby followed her, careful not to give away his position. He crept behind her, keeping his distance from her shall she notice him. He had no doubts about it anymore. This was definitely Undyne the Undying. Then... were Papyrus the Skeleton and Tess Ashby alive as well? They had to be!

For a while Grillby followed her, careful where he stepped. Then suddenly the trees opened up and the stranger in the black cloak stood at the edge of the cliff. Grillby promptly hid behind a tree, forcefully dimming his red glow so that she would not recognise him. The stranger looked around, two golden eyes glimmering below her hood, before she threw herself off the cliff.

Grillby gasped in surprise, then ran to the cliff to see what the stranger had done. Did she just commit suicide?

Though apparently not.

Grillby stared in absolute shock at the figure, a makeshift parachute unfurling itself from a bag on her back. With that she drifted down safely, the black hood being thrown off her head to reveal a long red ponytail.

For a moment Grilby stood there dumbfounded. The children were down the cliffs! He watched Undyne the Undying land a little roughly on the snowy ground, packing the large parachute back into the backpack on her back. She lifted her hood above her head again and walked into the trees.

Then Grillby came to his senses. Where was she going? He lifted his shades and blinked his eyes, special eyelids setting down over his eyes, turning them white to black. While the eyelid was down, all around his the world turned into swirls of blue, green, and a bit of red and orange and yellow. Infrared vision. All of the snowy environment around was coloured blue, coldness. But there was a hint of yellow, orange and even red between the trees. A house. People inside the house. Three of them, moving around, alive and well and emitting body heat.

The missing children! All of them! They were alive.

Flicking up his special eyelids, Grillby set his shades over his eyes and pressed his hand to the trunk of one of the trees. It was so could remember where he had seen the scene.

* * *

Of course Lionheart wouldn't give up on such a task. His prey had escaped right from under his nose and eluded the wrath he was so willing to unleash. The lion barely bottled his anger. That light blue soul was just at his fingertips, then vanished into nothingness as if it was nothing more than water vapour.

Lionheart would keep searching, even though his quest might be without a prize. There was a very high possibility of those three foolish children dying in that blizzard. But then that would be more awful. No human to fight. No soul to gain. It was a problem. A big problem at that.

His ear flicked when he heard the door open, but he didn't turn round. Grillby's Diner was full of newcomers, not just the Snowdin folk. Lionheart recalled that his friend, Sans the Skeleton, had not been coming to Grillby's as much as he used to. He had dwelled deeper into his Laboratory with his father and a new friend. The thought of killing that plump yellow lizard had crossed his mind a couple of times; Sans was his best friend, not hers!

Of course, Lionheart had wanted to kill his brother, but now decided against it. What would Sans think of him then? He flattened his ears at the mere frustration at the horrible turn of events.

"Captian Lionheart!" suddenly someone said.

The Captain of the Royal Guard heaved a heavy sigh and turned his head to look behind him. The other customers at the diner barely paid attention as the owner of the building rushed towards him. His flaming head was crackling and popping with anticipation, so instantly Lionheart knew that the fire monster had some important news to tell him.

"Yes?" he shuffled to face him, waiting for the news.

"I know where the missing children are."

At those words Lionheart felt his whole world light up. His white soul started to shine deep within him, his heart beating faster and his eyes began to glow.

"Where are they?" he demanded instantly, almost grabbing Grillby by the shoulders- stopping himself at the last second when he remembered that touching him would be a very bad idea. "Are they all alive?"

Grillby fixed his glasses with a heavy sigh. "Yes, they're all alive. And I know where they are."

Lionheart took a deep breath. "Where?"

It took Grillby a while to muster up the courage to even choke the words past his tight throat. "The lower snowlands. They've managed to make their way down those cliffs."

Of course. The once place nobody ever thought to explore. Lionheart had to give kudos to the three kids for figuring that out. They were smarter than everyone thought they'd be.

"There's a cottage in the woods," Grillby continued. "They're there. If you walk along the cliffs you'll find a tree marked with a burnt handprint. Across from there, there's the house where the children stay."

Lionheart was speechless. So those children were alive after all these years. Now he knew where they were.

Now he knew were the human was.

Lionheart stood to his feet, thanking the barman for his information and threw himself back out into the open.

He'd been waiting for this moment for so long. But first he needed to make a few essential stops.

* * *

Dr. Gaster didn't expect visitors. Especially not at this time. He had work to do for goodness sake!

He opened the lab door reluctantly, and to say that he was surprised at the monster hero's presence would be an understatement.

"Dr. Gaster!" Lionheart bowed his head to the scientist, paying respect to his best friend's father as if he were his own dad.

For a moment Lionheart seemed to shrink to the young cub-boy he was a few decades ago, when Sans was still a boy, when the surface was still the monster's home. Gaster gave Lionheart a confused glare.

"Yes, it's been a while Lionheart," said the Royal Scientist. "Are you here to see Sans?"

But to his surprise the massive anthropomorphic lion shook his head. "Not this time. I'm here to see you, Dr. Gaster."

"Very well," Gaster stepped aside to let Lionheart past once he'd gotten over his own shock. The oldest skeleton rubbed his eyesocket and shook his head. "Now I know you're not here for a friendly visit," he said, crossing his arms. Lionheart confirmed with a meow. He had sat down in a desk chair and began to spin around in it as if he were a child himself. "Then c'mon, spill the beans."

"Oh, I'm just wondering if you've got a teleportation device set to the destination of New Home," Lionheart asked, leaning back so he stared at the white ceiling. "One that will work from anywhere and will take all of your things with you."

Questions began to flood Gaster's mind at this strange request. What did Lionheart need a teleportation device for? Gaster was quick to ask so.

"I want to explore the lower snowlands," Lionheart replied effortlessly, as if he were going on a mere vacation. Gaster searched his words for lies, but found- to his own shock- that Lionheart was telling the truth. "And I need a way back up the cliff, if you'd be so kind, doctor."

Gaster rolled his eyes. He had expected Lionheart to bring news of his son, whether he was alive or dead. Right now everyone was in the dark on the subject, and the fact that he didn't know was driving him crazy. Arial and now Papyrus... Was Wingdings destined to lose everyone he was close to? His mind turned to Sans, and he reassured himself that keeping his eldest son close could enable him to make sure nothing happened to him.

"Fine then, Captain," Gaster sighed heavily. He told the lion to stay while he climbed up the escalator to reach his tiny, successful inventions.

"This is a teleportation detonator," Gaster explained when he got back. In his hand was a tiny joystick-like object. It looked like the detonator to some kind of bomb. "Flick the cap up and press the button and you will be at New Home in no time."

Lionheart stood to his feet and bowed down to Gaster once again. "Thanks Dr. Gaster, I owe you one." He took the small device and pocketed it. "I'll be sure to tell you how it was."

* * *

There is a loophole to every rule. A way to break every system. And Lionheart was always a rule breaker. A creative one at that. He knew the skeleton race could weed out lies between dialogue as if it were sorting black letters from white. But Lionheart had told the truth to Gaster, he really did intend to go down those cliffs to explore. But it was not lying if Lionheart didn't say anything at all, so he avoided telling him the other reason why he was going down.

He was there now, walking along the edge of the cliffs, feeling the snow crunch beneath his wide feet. Once again his eyes were glowing. He had made sure the sentries were given a surprise holiday, so that nobody could get in his way.

Once again anticipation was causing his heart to beat faster. He had felt this way every single time before a fight with a human, and he liked it.

This time the desire would be fulfilled. There was nowhere the human could run from him now. Never again.

Just like Grillby had said, he came upon a tree marked with a scorched black handprint. It looked relatively new too, only being marked the day before. Lionheart followed the barman's instructions and turned to the cliff.

Though he couldn't see the house itself, Lionheart was sure that he saw chimney-smoke rise from behind the trees. The lion opened his mouth to inhale, but smelt only forest. He was too far away.

Lionheart rubbed his hands together in glee and preparation, unable to hold back his excitement any longer. He outstretched his hand, and a long, big, fancy blade appeared. It was bigger than Lionheart himself, a weapon that took a ton of magic energy to summon. He was proud of it, keeping it sharp and shiny for occasions like these. He could see his own face in the metal, as well as the dried blood of Integrity and Bravery. Soon the blood of Patience would join them.

With that, Lionheart stepped over the cliff and felt himself fall.

Faster and faster Lionheart fell, the weight of his armour and blade pulling him down even faster. His golden mane was flapping behind him, and his eyes began to water from the wind. The ground was getting closer and closer. When it got close enough, Lionheart plunged his mighty blade into the cliffside and felt the friction pull them into a gradual stop. And when he did finally stop, Lionheart could stand on the snowy ground with two flat feet.

He was here at last. The blade was pulled away from the cliff, leaving behind a long gash in the rock like an open wound.

Once again Lionheart opened his mouth to take a deep inhale. Though the smell that reached the top of his ridged mouth caused his whole body to shiver.

Human scent!

Almost jumping with glee, Lionheart stalked forward, following the scent of his prey. His teeth were bared and his blade was drawn. It was close. So close that Lionheart could hear the beating of her heart, the breathing of her lungs.

With a few more steps, Lionheart could see her. She was standing in front of a dark-wooded hut, humming under her breath while she stood among snow-berry bushes.

He had found her at last! Lionheart licked his lips. He could kill her quickly and not go through the bother of having her call the others. But that wouldn't be fun! He had already made that mistake with Integrity, and barely got any excitement out of it.

So Lionheart stepped out between two trees, the shadows dancing over his golden body. There was nothing between him and the human now. No trees, no plants, nothing. Only snow. He smiled and punched the tree next to him, shaking it as some of the snow fell to the ground.

The hollow sound caused the human to stop her song at once. Lionheart watched as she turned round to look at him. No sound came out of her the expression of pure horror set upon her face.

Lionheart's smile stretched wider as he angled his blade so it caught the dim light. Her eyes were grey, just like Sans had described them.

"Hello Patience."


	11. Chapter 10: Downfall

There was a sickening lurch in Tess' stomach, her last meal threatening to come out of the wrong way. The tiny hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, and her breath got caught in her throat.

Captain Lionheart was standing there, still as stone, a long blade drawn in one paw, bigger than the lion himself. It was very fancy, complete with engraved monster-writing and darkened red blood which he had never cleaned.

Integrity and Bravery...

"Hello Patience," Lionheart whispered. There was a low growl in his deadly voice, and his eyes glimmering with barely suppressed excitement. "It seems I've found you at last."

The whole world around went deadly silent, as if time itself held its breath. There was no wind and the breaths came out as white water vapour.

Tess glanced back at her house. Papyrus and Undyne were inside, having a peaceful afternoon. Why should she kill their nice time? They couldn't go up against this beast. She should sound the alarm, that's what they agreed on.

But she hesitated.

"I don't want to fight," she whispered calmly to him. "Why can't you leave us alone? We haven't done anything to you."

But Lionheart had taken a step forward. "Oh, don't give me that. I've waited for so long to go up against another human. At least give me a good battle! Show what humanity is made of!"

How was Tess meant to represent all humankind? She was just an ordinary girl who didn't want a part in anything. She twitched when the snow crunched beneath his feet.

"Please don't take another step forward," she begged. "I don't want to fight you!"

"Oh well then, I guess we're going to have to end you quickly," he shrugged. "The thought makes me shudder!"

But to Lionheart suddenly paused when Tess tapped her foot thrice on the ground. Before he could stop her, the human raised her head and took a deep breath.

"ARISE AND COME TO ME!" Her voice was so loud even the people of Snowdin could've heard it. The echo called back to Tess, multiple times, but somehow Tess couldn't recognise some of the voices that came back to her.

 _Arise and come to me._

 _Arise and come to me._

 _Arise and come to me._

Her alarm call caused multiple things to happen. The little river next to the house suddenly rippled, and from its depths burst a long wooden boat, its cat head giving a ferocious roar. Its rider was not on its back- possibly because it hated fighting, but its steed was as scary as ever.

The wooden door swung open, and out burst Undyne, already in battle-mode. Her fins were flattened and her lips drawn so far back that even her gums showed. Between her hands was a single blue spear, sharpened and glowing like an echo flower. Following shortly behind her was Papyrus, shaking on his bony knees at the sight of the massive lion.

Tess couldn't help but feel that lump of guilt form in her throat. All these monsters came at her distress-call, because they cared. All because she made them love her. Now they were willingly facing death for her sake.

"You called?" Undyne asked nobly, as if Tess was her queen. She bowed her head as she stood beside her. She handed Tess the sharpened stick that she had been working on. It was Tess' weapon, but what could it do against someone like Lionheart?

Lionheart glared at all of them- at the mad Sea Wraith and nervous skeleton, at the menacing boat and lastly at the little human. He snorted, but then erupted into a great howl of laughter.

"Oh this is better than I have ever imagined!" he roared, pressing his free paw to his brow as he tilted his head back to laugh to the ceiling.

And he continued laughing, letting out his cold euphoria in a cold, meaningless tone. After a while he gradually stopped, going from hysteria to uncontrolled chuckles to small snickers and finally ending in a deep breath.

"This has got to be my birthday," he giggled, beginning to twirl his blade in his paws. "It could've been just the human that dies, but this is way better!"

He made a violent move forward, but halted suddenly. His excitement faded when he pulled at the vine that had tied itself around his ankle. His great head glared back, and his tiny emotionless eyes set on the tiny yellow flower that grew from the ground.

"I've killed you millions of times," said Flowey threateningly, however with his cold smile. "It isn't wise to toy with the likes of little old me."

Before Lionheart could react, two more vines erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Lionheart, pinning his arms to his sides. He couldn't move.

Just when Tess thought it was already over, that Flowey would go in for the quick kill and steal the stage, Lionheart smiled a truly terrifying smile.

"Is this some joke?" he sneered, smiling even wider. "If you've really killed me a million times, can you tell me what I'm going to do next?"

Flowey's expression soured. "That's not how it works," he remarked coldly. "But if you want to know what you're going to do next- I'll happily tell you." The two green vines tightened around Lionheart's torso. "You're going to die."

However Lionheart didn't even flinch when Flowey applied more pressure. Instead he tensed himself and pulled apart his arms, taring through the vines as if they were just frail cobwebs. He pulled apart Flowey's vines with his muscle alone.

Flowey's eyes widened for a moment, but he reassured himself and pulled back his mouth to make a high-pitched scream as another vine whipped out from beneath the ground. It reached high, then snapped towards Lionheart like a whip. However Lionheart was faster.

His free paw grabbed the green whip firmly, even though the strike left a raw-red mark on the palm of his paw. With absolutely no effort whatsoever, Lionheart pulled the vine towards himself, taring the yellow flower from the ground, which sent him flying to the air. The little plant had no time to process what was happening, and before he knew it a huge paw was gripping him tightly around the stem.

"It was a neat move," purred the lion, his eyes not leaving Flowey's. "You made an intimidating entrance, flower-boy." With no further comment Lionheart swung his arm around the axis and threw the weed as hard as he could. The buttercup hit the trunk of a tree with a somehow satisfying CRUNCH before falling to the ground. He didn't get up again.

"Now, where were we?" Lionheart turned to the kids, but found another surprise attack coming his way. The wooded steed had shot out of the water and flung itself at him like a rabid dog.

"Alright guys, this is the moment we've all been training for!" Undyne told her two friends blankly. "We fight, or we die."

"But what about Flowey-" Papyrus started.

Undyne cut him off. "We'll worry about that flower douchebag later. Right now we've got to deal with this unholy animal that just looks like a monster!"

With those words the blue Sea Wraith roared and followed in Boat's footsteps to attack. Papyrus only hesitated a couple of moments before he too jumped into the action.

 _What am I doing?_ Tess wondered, staring down at her sharpened stick helplessly. _My friends are fighting for me... and all I am doing is waiting._

She flinched when the hurt cry of Boat rang in her ears.

 _All I can do is wait... What am I waiting for? For death?_

Her eyes began to sting at the edges, and she couldn't look away when the lion sliced off Boat's long tail with his blade. It made Tess angry. No... not angry... Furious.

"SCREW MY PATIENCE!" she yowled at the top of her lungs, leaping forward in a speed never achieved by her before. The long stick was lifted up over her head as she lunged for Lionheart.

All her life she was waiting. And for what? The barrier was never going to be destroyed, and her promise was never going to be upheld. She was never going to achieve anything by standing to the side. It was now or never.

Her soul shrieked, begging the girl to not go against her own trait, but there was no changing the human's mind now.

It was incredibly difficult for a human to defy their core trait. Bravery cannot back down, even if facing death right in the face. Justice will not stop until justice is fulfilled, even at the cost of their own life. Determination will never give up, even when it drives them to psychopathy. Patience will wait forever.

But Tess was sick of waiting.

However Lionheart saw the human coming, and lashed out with his leg. His foot caught Tess right in the temple, and the consciousness faded from her brain as she tumbled back into the snow, still clutching her weapon in one hand.

* * *

 _Tess was never good at fighting. Her heart wasn't in swinging her sharpened stick to deal damage, not matter how loud Undyne tried to train her. She did accept lessons, though felt like they didn't do any good. She was much more fluent in dodging attacks. Undyne would rage when Tess would snake through every spear, so would Papyrus._

 _But everyone had their limits._

* * *

"Tessy!" Undyne shrieked, but saw that her human was only knocked out- her light blue heart had not shattered. She still had the majority of her health points clinging to her, she would survive.

Their master plan was already falling apart. Flowey and Tess were knocked out cold, and Boat backed off, weeping over its amputated tail while it tried to clutch onto its remaining 1hp.

Now it just left her... and Papyrus.

The lion was on him now, clutching the tall skeleton in a huge paw, lifting the long blade with the other, ready to bring it down onto his skull.

Undyne gave a howl of fury and leapt at him, smashing into the lion's side with all her might. Her claws raked across his long mane, attempting with all her might to get him away from Papyrus. He threw her off with ease, but thanks to distraction Papyrus managed to free himself from Lionheart's powerful grasp and draw back.

"Are you okay?" Papyrus asked Undyne while a temporary break lasted between them and their opponent. Undyne gave an immediate and brisk nod. "What'll happen now?"

Undyne had no idea. It was just them and the lion now- all their other allies were out of the fight now. But could Undyne and Papyrus beat Lionheart? He was much bigger, much older and much more experienced than both of them combined. And beating him would mean turning him to ash- did Undyne want that?

 _I made a promise,_ Undyne told herself. _I will put Tess and Papyrus before anybody else. Including myself._

It was her turn to fight now. She lifted her arm up and called upon her faithful green attack, spears appearing from nowhere to fling themselves at Lionheart. However he raised his blade and began to block the incoming spears. Despite this Undyne kept her attack going, the shots getting faster and faster. A few shots managed to slip past the lion's guard and lodge themselves into his body before disintegrating into nothingness. The spears however left the open wounds which allowed blood to escape. Lionheart's health points were lowering, though not by much.

 _Keep going, you must keep going!_ Undyne begged herself. _Keep your turn going for as long as possible._

However she couldn't. Her magic needed time to regenerate. A single moment was enough, but in that single moment the turns would switch over to the opponent's. Lionheart would be free to attack then.

Just when Undyne's magic strength was about to wear out, Papyrus also threw his hand up. His blue magic overpowered Undyne's green influence, and with a great heave he lifted Lionheart into the air and slammed him into the ground as hard as he could.

Undyne breathed a sigh of relief. At least Papyrus had her back. She breathed a sigh of relief as Papyrus took over the attack, letting her magic energy flow back into her. She could always count on Papyrus.

With one final heave, Papyrus and Undyne commanded their magic with their hands alone, not synchronised at all, but the attacks flew at the same target. Blue spears and bones flew from all directions and emerged from the ground, and the lion's soul switched from green to blue and back to green again.

* * *

 _"You're doing it all wrong Papyrus!"_

 _The little skeleton was so startled at Undyne's harsh voice that he dropped the bone he was carrying into the snow._

 _Undyne had took it upon herself to teach her two friends as well as herself how to fight. She wasn't the best at it, since all they learned at school was how to take control of their magic- they never actually got taught how to fight. Papyrus was okay at fighting, but he felt as if that was not enough. He wanted to be absolutely extraordinary._

 _"You're arms are very vulnerable if you keep them straight like that!" scolded the teen, her hands on her hips sassily. She had began to shed her milky teeth, so she had wide gaps between wobbling teeth, and soon like all Sea Wraiths, she would be bare-gummed for about a month before her adult teeth would start growing, sharper than ever before. "You should really learn some proper sword-arm techniques!"_

 _"Will you teach me?" Papyrus asked sheepishly, picking his bone up quickly from the ground._

 _"Of course! Fuh-huh-huh!"_

 _"Undyne is just as good as you are," Tess remarked from the porch. Her cheek was propped up on a fist, watching the two monsters with unblinking eyes. "We're all bad at the whole fighting thing."_

 _"You never know when you have to fight!" argued Undyne, flicking her wrist to suddenly hold a spear. "We need to be strong! We need to know how to protect ourselves!"_

 _Papyrus sat down in the snow as Undyne picked up a long, straight stick from between the trees. With a sigh she started to sharpen the stick with her spear, the wood curling right off the stick like rose petals._

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _"I'm making Tess a weapon," Undyne replied with a shrug._

* * *

Papyrus and Undyne marched together just like they had practised, without even sharing a glance they attacked in unison. Lionheart was pushed back as bones and spears flew right at him. Some of those attacks bounced harmlessly off of his dark armour, but some slipped in through the cracks and lodged themselves into the soft flesh. The magic attacks disappeared on contact, but left behind massive, gaping wounds which stuck the golden fur together with sticky red glue.

For as inexperienced as they were, the skeleton and the sea wraith made a good team. All those years they grew up together, they learned how to read each other's minds through body language. Tess knew that too. The three knew each other like they knew their own minds.

They were strong. Perhaps even strong enough to beat the captain of the royal guard himself. Undyne could feel everyone's hearts pounding together as one. Hers, Papyrus', Tess', Boat's... All of them wanted to live.

Undyne flashed a glare towards Tess. The young woman had woken up from the kick to her head, and had Boat at her side as they tried to put themselves back together after Lionheart's attacks. Tess looked up at Undyne. Their eyes met for a single moment.

 _Grey human eyes met yellow monster eyes, and for that moment, the human and the monster shared a special connection- as if destiny had meant for them to meet all along._

 _"So," the monster broke the silence first. "I know your name probably isn't 'human', so unless you want me to call you that, maybe you should tell me what I should call you?"_

 _Tess got over her shock and steadied herself. "My name's Tess. Tess Ashby. And who are you?"_

 _"My name's Undyne the Undying," the monster introduced herself proudly, puffing out her chest in pride. "But you can just call me Undyne."_

"Are you okay Tessy?" Undyne called over to her. Her human gave a curt nod, but then her expression widened into horror.

"BEHIND YOU!"

Undyne barely had time to react. A forceful blow of a massive closed fist his her right between the shoulder blades, knocking all air out of her lungs. If it had not been for her gills, it would've been the end of little Undyne. As her lungs were forced to shut down due to the force of the hit, the gills at the sides of Undyne's neck sprung into play. It would take a day or two- if they survived at all- for her lungs to fully regenerate. That's why it was good to have gills as backup.

The hit had sent the wraith girl tumbling into the snow, trying to recollect herself. Before she got up, Lionheart threw his foot across Undyne's face, so hard that three of the shark-teeth flew from her mouth and would've gotten lost in the snow if it had not been for the trail of blood that they left behind them.

Undyne's claws flailed at Lionheart, catching him twice across the face before a gleaming huge pike burst through the ground to force him back away from her.

But what difference could it make? Undyne had taken heavy damage, and Lionheart was close and fixed on her now.

* * *

 _"How's it like up there on the surface?" Papyrus asked one day. They had finished their exploration of their new snowy surroundings and returned to the warmth of the hermit's hut, which was now theirs._

 _Tess' eyes glimmered with anticipation. "It's a truly wonderful place," she said emotionally, reaching through into her mind to grasp the few memories she had of that place. "There's the ocean, huge so that everywhere you look all you see is water."_

 _"You're fibbing," Undyne pointed out from the kitchen. "There can't be something big like that."_

 _"That's the brilliant thing!" Tess shook her hands. "And there's salt in it too!"_

 _"Salt?" Papyrus echoed, black eyes widening in awe. "Like the same salt that's on the walls of Waterfall?"_

 _There was a snort from the kitchen. "You licked the walls at Waterfall? That's disgusting!"_

 _"Actually no! Salt kills bacteria!" Papyrus pointed out, quick to defend himself. "And besides, it did taste really salty."_

 _Undyne's face popped into the doorway to Papyrus' room, where the others were hanging out. Tess was laying on the floor staring at the ceiling while the skeleton himself sat comfortably on the mattress, snugging into the warmth of his orange-red hoodie. "There's no such thing as the ocean! If it was really as big as Tess says it is, and that it's full of salt, it would've all run out by now!"_

 _Tess shook her head. "The ocean is so big it never runs out! There's fish and sharks and other animals that live in there too."_

 _That got Undyne's attention alright. "What about Sea Wraiths!?"_

 _There was chattering laughter coming from Papyrus. "You're one of the last Sea Wraiths on this planet Undyne, and all of them are underground."_

 _The blue fish huffed. "But sharks and orcas and sea serpents are my distant cousins as a species!"_

 _"Just like skeletons and humans," Papyrus exclaimed, stabbing the air with his finger. "I think humans descended from skeletons."_

 _His remark just made Tess burst out laughing._

* * *

Undyne was going to die. Lionheart had pinned her to the ground with a foot, an uneasy shine in his eyes that nobody in their right mind would ever want to see.

The sight ignited something within Papyrus. The scenes flashed between his eyes, remembering the crunch of Flowey's stem as he was tossed against the tree, Boat's shrieking as its tail was cut right off. He remembered how effortlessly Lionheart had knocked out Tess, and as he blinked the memories away he saw that now Undyne was going to be hurt by Lionheart too.

All his life Papyrus didn't want to fight. He and Tess would always chose flight over fight, much to Undyne's annoyance. He never wanted to hurt anyone, and fought only because Undyne and Tess and everyone else did.

But now everything hinged on him. Undyne was going to get hurt. Nobody could get to her in time, but him.

Should he really attack someone on his own to save someone? He risked death on either side.

Undyne... Tess... He would always choose them.

With a swift movement, Papyrus raised his hand up then threw it towards Lionheart. Four bones constructed themselves from nothingness and zipped towards Lionheart. Three of those bones bounced away from Lionheart's incredibly hard armour, but one burst through the chainmail at his shoulder, digging into an already-open wound.

Lionheart turned from Undyne to give Papyrus a dangerous glare. He had been fed up with being the piggy in the middle between two opponents less than half his age, and itched to be on the giving end of the pain. Quickly realising that he couldn't do that with Papyrus still standing, Lionheart stepped up to face him.

"Why are you fighting?" asked the 'hero' suddenly.

Why was he fighting? Couldn't they just sit down and settle this over a cup of tea? He could feel grey eyes, yellow eyes and wooden black eyes burn into his bones like acid, making him realise that he was trembling all over.

"I don't want to fight you," Papyrus began. "But I have to. If I don't, you'll kill my friends."

Lionheart's flattened ears perked up with joy, and he flipped his sword up. The long blade just about completed its cycle before he caught it at the leather handle again. "Clever Papyrus. You remind me of Sans, you really do. Except, if it were Sans, he'd ask no questions and attack me head-on."

 _Then you don't know him at all_ , Papyrus thought angrily.

Lionheart took a few steps forward and carried on speaking. "And what a dilemma you've got here. Fight against your pathetic morality, or fight for your friends' lives? What will it be, Gaster's son? Which will you choose?"

A few moments of uneasy silence passed. His whole being was shaking uncontrollably in fear. He didn't want to fight, never in a million years. Couldn't he turn things around with words? Sometimes words did not work- he knew that now.

"The Great Papyrus has chosen!"

Battling his fear and inner morality with all his might, Papyrus pushed his usually weak magical power forward. Bones of all shapes and sizes burst from the ground or out of thin air and flung themselves at Lionheart. His opponent dodged most of them, but was caught completely off-guard when his soul was tainted deep blue and was thrown right back into the shadows of the trees.

"Unydne, are you okay?" he called over to his fish-friend. "Please tell me you're okay!"

"I'm... urgh... Fine," was her answer. Undyne was trying with all her might to stand to her feet, but couldn't do so without the support of a tree. Her gills were working rapidly, and Papyrus guessed that her lungs were forced to shut down. HIs bony hand touched his own exposed teeth when he noticed the wide gaps in between the sharp shark teeth. They would grow back within a few weeks, but he wasn't sure that they had that much to live.

"Surrender now Lionheart!" Papyrus called to the recovering beast. "Or I will be forced to use my special attack!"

He could hear Tess' gasp of protest, and he saw Undyne's eyes widen. Maybe he shouldn't...? I'll only threaten him with it, Papyrus decided. He planted his feet firmly into the snow and watched with unblinking eyes as Lionheart stumbled into the light again.

But what Papyrus did not realise was that his turn was finally over. Was it just him, or did Lionheart's blade grow in size?

It would've been game over for Papyrus if he had not dodged quickly to the side and avoided Lionheart's slashing blade. The blade swished right past his non-existent ears and caused a panic attack to awaken within Papyrus. Before Lionheart could charge at him again, Papyrus was already at the other end of the clearing.

"I am The Great Papyrus!" he yelled out, stammering at first but steadying as he spoke further. "And I am the guardian of my friends!"

He was now shaking all over- but to his own surprise, it wasn't fear that caused him to tremble. It was power.

The special attack should bring Lionheart down to a state where he could no longer fight, at least Papyrus hoped so. He did not want to be like Lionheart, covered with red blood and white dust and so bedridden with LV it was ridiculous. But he needed to put a stop to this madness.

Abandoning all sense of fear and anxiety and anything else that might've been holding him back, Papyrus' right eye fared a deep red-orange colour, so brightly it looked as if it was on fire. A creature behind him appeared out of nowhere, just like his bone attacks. However it wasn't just a mere cartoon-ish bone, but a long, slender animal skull, eyes burning the same colour as Papyrus' was. The dragon skull opened its jaws to give one mighty roar that caused the sounds of battle to sound like the faint giggle of a baby by comparison. Lionheart's eyes widened as the floating skull fired a bright white beam of light towards him. He didn't have time to react; Lionheart was swallowed by the light.

Two deep breaths filled lungs that weren't there, and the gaster blaster flickered like static before winking out of existence. The smoke caused by the snow and the explosion of light was still hanging around, clouding the area where Lionheart was. Did he do it? Was it all over?

No. Of course it wasn't. Papyrus was foolish to think it was. He had let his guard down, and didn't expect it when Lionheart suddenly leapt from the mini-blizzard, eyes ablaze and paws clutching his blade with all his might. His mouth opened widely so the tall skeleton could see into the depths of his throat surrounded by lots of huge white teeth.

The powerful blade drew a neat cut diagonally across Papyrus' chest, tearing through his deep orange hoodie and through his ribs, causing the wound to bleed. All in one fell swoop, Papyrus' health dropped to one.

The tall skeleton fell back into the snow, wailing in the burning pain of the wound. Tears formed at his eyes, and dribbled down the dry cheekbones.

A shadow was looming over him. A shadow with burning eyes and a wide, toothy smile.

"It was a brave move, Gaster's son," Lionheart sneered. "But a dumb one at that!"

He didn't get to do anything else. He was once again distracted at the flurry of spears that he was suddenly bombarded with. Once again the dark armour protected him from most shots, but some managed to lower his unbelievably high health.

Undyne looked... different somehow. Her long red hair was spiked up in its pony tail, her pupils were thinner than ever and in one hand she held the largest spear Papyrus had ever seen. The Heroine had appeared.

"You're gonna have to try a little harder than that!"

* * *

 _It was very late. The fire in the fireplace had toned down to only smouldering embers between the coals, which cast red wisps of light around the shack. The silence was only broken by the cackles of the dying flames and the gentle breathing._

 _Undyne was sure she was the only one awake. She sat there on the floor, leaned against the sofa with her legs outstretched towards the fireplace, wondering to the night. At her left, Papyrus held his bony cheek on her shoulder, snoring quietly 'nyeh-heh-heh' with each breath. On her right, Tess was curled up with her head on her lap just like some sort of cat._

 _Undyne was fine with this, and soon her own eyelids began to shut._

 _They had gotten so close._

* * *

There was nothing left now. Flowey was down. Boat was down. Tess was down. Papyrus was down. Undyne was the last one standing.

And what a fine, unpolished diamond Undyne turned out to be. Of course Undyne was one of the few monsters to possess such raw strength- she was a natural at this sort of thing. She was young. She was inexperienced. And she was down to half-health already. But The Heroine never gave up. She was very determined for a monster, and she had raw power at her very claw tips. Only a few could match up to The Heroine's power.

Lionheart was unfortunately one of those people.

"Finally! A worthy opponent!" Lionheart had remarked with a wide smile.

The lion and the fish fought for what felt like eternity, both lowering each other's health steadily with well-aimed attacks. Blood pumped in Undyne's ears as the rush of battle howled around them. She was well aware of everything around. Every movement of her opponent, every movement of her own. She could feel the eyes of her friends on her scales, wide eyed. They relied on her to finish this. Right now.

The wind was howling. The hearts were pounding. For one moment Undyne felt as if she were winning. She was going to save her friends.

All it took was one mistake. Undyne slipped and stumbled, and that was enough for Lionheart to flip things around.

There was only a few nanoseconds in which it happened. Like an adder, Lionheart plucked one of Undyne's smaller spears right of out the air. As Undyne tried to regain her lost balanced, Lionheart advanced and plunged the spear right into Undyne's left eye.

The Heroine screamed in pain, falling right back onto her back, pulling the spear right out of her eye before it pierced the brain behind. It hurt so much... Much more than everything else. She was half-blind now, the eyesocket bleeding badly where the eye had been torn out of.

One health point left... she had failed.

"Undyne! Undyne!" Papyrus called from behind her. He was still clutching onto the single point of health he had, still bleeding from his chest wound. It was clear that he was in pain too. His skeletal arms embraced her close, but Undyne hardly felt a thing. The agony in her eyesocket was mindnumbing, and combined with the fact that Undyne had lost, she was on the verge of unconsciousness. It felt like her body was about to crumble into nothingness at any moment.

She could feel Papyrus' frail bones between her webbed hands. He was nearly dust too. All it took was one hit, and both of them would be dead.

Step. Step.

"How cute," Lionheart cooed sweetly. His colossal blade twirled round his paws, covered in the dried blood of Integrity and Bravery, and now with more-resent splinters, Sea Wraith and Skeleton blood as well as bone marrow. "I shed a tear." He drew a line down his cheek to imitate crying, however he didn't seem sad at all. In fact- he was almost bouncing with barely suppressed excitement. "But I guess I really should thank you two. You gave me a better fight than I've had in a long time! I forgot what it was like to have opponents worth fighting, even if they are monsters." His long tongue licked over his lips. "You two are going first."

Lionheart raised his blade above his head, ready to bring it down onto the two downed monsters' heads. That expression, it wasn't an expression of a soldier forced to kill in the line of duty.

This was an expression of a pure psychopath.

Papyrus and Undyne huddled closer, closing their eyes against the world around them. They didn't want to watch as Lionheart struck them down. They pressed their faces into the other's shoulder, waiting for the final blow.

But it never came.

After a short while, Undyne lifted her head to see what was going on. Her weakened, upside-down monster soul gave a nasty jolt.

Tess was standing there, crouched in battle-mode. Her silver eyes were narrowed, and her hands clutched her weapon so hard that her knuckled turned white. She held it up above her head, parrying Lionheart's blow just in the nick of time.

"I will never let you hurt them," said Tess simply.

Lionheart's cold stare bore into Tess' eyes, and he smiled even wider. His great muscles worked under his thick golden pelt as he swung his sword once more. There was a flash of movement where the human had attempted to protect herself with the sharpened stick. But upon collision, Tess' weapon didn't last.

And neither did she.

Tess fell to the ground, the snow around her slowly turning a very vivd scarlet. She was no longer moving, no longer breathing, no longer living.


	12. Chapter 11: Patience's Revenge

It's been so long since I've updated this story, and I've stopped putting little meaningless ANs at the start of my stories, but I feel like one is in order here. First, I think I owe a thank you to all of you who are reading this right now, and an apology for temporarily abandoning this story. Secondly, did you know if you type in 'do a barrel roll' into the google search bar it actually does a loop? It's fascinating!

* * *

It took Undyne a couple of moments to realise what had happened.

One moment Tess was standing there, her silver eyes burning with the desire to protect the two downed monsters, the next her blood was very red against the white snow.

Undyne wanted to wake up from this nightmare- she wanted to wake up on her bed and have Tess fuss over her having a bad dream. Her head began to swim, not a single thought able to be held for more than a few moments.

A tiny light blue heart emerged from Tess' body, glowing so bright it might've been a star itself. But it wasn't like that for long. An aura of orange had embraced it, and pulled it towards the human's killer.

Lionheart held the fragile, yet powerful human soul with his free hand, the blade shimmering and evaporating into nothing. The magic prevented him from absorbing the soul, despite how tempting its power was. The bright blue glow shone through Lionheart's mane, reflected in his poisonous amber eyes like two pretty blue moons. His shoulders began to shake uncontrollably, and he soon erupted into maniacal laughter.

That laugh was what snapped Undyne from her shock. Her jaws dislocated themselves so that Undyne could open it as wide as she possibly could, showing off her rows of many shark-like teeth and gilled gullet. Out came a deep-pitched alien sound of complete and utter RAGE so loud that it made the Gaster Blaster's roar sound like distant rustling of leaves. A long, white spirit of a spear emerged from her bleeding eyesocket as she tore herself from Papyrus' grasp.

"GIVE HER BACK!"

She forgot that she had only one health point, and she forgot about everything around her. Only one thought had locked itself in her numbing mind. She was going straight for Lionheart, her soul beating on the brink of unstable, her very magic leaking out of her eyes and mouth and gills like shining inner liquid.

But Lionheart just took something from his pocket and held it in the paw that previously held the bloodstained blade. It was a small device no bigger than a tv remote control, one that looked suspiciously like a bomb detonator. He flicked the protective cap up with his thumb and pressed the red button. With a blinding flash he was gone, leaving Undyne to crash into the snow where he once stood.

For that instant Undyne felt her whole world collapse onto itself, crumbling like a dying monster into nothingness. Her rage melted away like ice in Hotland, and left behind the gaping hole of realisation of what had happened.

"No... Give Tess back... Please..."

Undyne could swear that her gills had swelled up to form a massive lump in her throat, not allowing her to properly breathe, and she was convinced her heart had been torn right out of her chest.

Yet she still got up. Despite the overwhelming despair, Undyne still heaved herself up onto her hands and knees to look behind. Every muscle in her body wailed at her to stay down and curl up and die, every nerve cell in her brain screamed at her to refuse to believe that this was really real life.

Yet when she looked back, she really did see the limp body of her friend laying in the snow, chest down on the snow covering whatever horrific wound that caused her whole health to shatter. Then Undyne forced her eyes to raise above the horrible scene to look at Papyrus.

There were no sane words that were able to describe the expression that had appeared on Papyrus' face. He was beyond horrified, unable to comprehend any reality he was faced with. Undyne doubted he even felt the tears that rolled out of his dark sockets, yet somehow he too met Undyne's eye.

They had both failed.

Boat was the first to dare approach Tess, prodding her downed face with its blunt nose, licking her cheek with a splintered tongue. Why wouldn't she wake up?

It didn't take Boat long to figure out the answer. A whimper of sadness revved within it, and it turned its blunt tail and dived back into the should-be-frozen river beside the cottage.

Boat ran away.

And Flowey was gone.

Undyne was no longer aware of herself or anything around her. She was not aware of herself crawling over to the limp body, or the fact that her heroine had disappeared. All Undyne knew was that she had pressed her flat face to Tess' shoulder blade to let her own bloody tears soak into the beloved patchwork jacket. Why was Undyne expecting to find any comfort in doing so? All the warmth had already gone from her body, and her breathing had faded into an everlasting silence.

Her human was dead. Just like that.

Papyrus padded to kneel beside Undyne, lowering his head in respect while his tears melted into the snow. He was sobbing, shaking from head to toe, hardly able to believe that Tessy was no longer with them.

No way was her other friend suffering. Undyne lifted her weary head to look at Papyrus' distress with her one remaining golden eye. She bared her fangs, the gaps where some of her teeth had been torn out still bleeding.

"Come on Papyrus. We're going to tell everyone what happened."

Her sentence tore Papyrus from whatever internal daze he been in and thrust him into a rambling panic attack.

"T-t-t-tell everyone? H-h-h-how?" he stammered, his voice barely audible past his sobbing. Like Undyne, his soul had began to swerve into unstable, causing his own eye to glow a low red-orange like a dying flame. "But Tess is-" the word couldn't get past his throat. "L-Lionheart-" He couldn't speak, so instead he let out a single wordless yowl of despair. It somehow got the point through to Undyne better than if he'd spoken any decipherable words.

Time cannot tick backwards. You cannot retract words back into your throat, or reverse a lion's battle. You cannot put the breath back into a friend's breast when all the breath had gone.

"Her soul," Undyne answered eventually. "Lionheart took her soul. We show everyone what he did and- and... and..." But Papyrus must've heard the desperation in her voice, because he fell silent. "Please Papyrus. She's our sister, she'd do this same for us."

* * *

Once again Sans was back at Grillby's, after another fruitless search in the forest, as he always was. Thought it was stranger this time. This time, the forest was full of strange noises, ones that Sans did not recognise. Like the whole forest was alive and roaring in rage, echoing so the sounds came from everywhere. And, although Sans was convinced it was just his mind playing tricks on him, he thought he'd heard a Gaster Blaster shriek.

And since Alphys was terrified of the forest screaming at them, they had promptly left. Though Sans wouldn't admit it out loud, even to Alphys, he was terrified too. There was something ungodly familiar about the horrible sounds, as if he's already heard them before. Nah, it couldn't be anything important- probably two snowdogs fighting over a bone.

"You went out into the forest again?" Grillby muttered aimlessly, raising his eyebrow at Sans as he polished a glass- his favourite activity.

The skeleton knocked his skull into the desk. "You know me so well, Grill. It's the wailing forest now, y'know? Possibly dogs fighting over who the Alpha should be."

The fire monster snorted under his breath, in more amusement than Sans had ever seen in him. "The dogs don't care about the passersby, they make as much noise as they want."

A groan emerged from Sans, and he held up three fingers in a hope-deprived plea. He could hear the shuffle of the flame monster, and soon there was a full bottle of tomato jam next to him. Sans sighed heavily and took a swig. Why did it taste worse than it usually did?

But then Grillby's expression brightened. "Sans I have to tell you something important."

He lifted his head and looked at the barman. "Hmm?"

"It's about-"

"SANS!" The sudden shout made everyone in the diner jump in shock. The door busted open, nearly blown right off its hinges. Sans snapped his head backwards, and his eyesockets widened at the shape in the doorway, blocking out the snow-light from outside like a lunar eclipse.

"Alphys?" he couldn't hide the confusion in his voice. "I thought you went home? What-"

But the little yellow lizard looked terrified, her deep, dark eyes wide behind round glasses. It wasn't uncommon for Alphys to be nervous or scared... but this level of terror was alarming even for her. Her mouth was open and rambling before Sans even got a chance to finish. "You've got to come see this Sans! Something's coming towards Snowdin!"

Sans slipped off his chair at once. "A human?" It was the question all monsters in the diner were silently asking.

But Alphys was frantically shaking her head, not even aware that she was hyperventilating. "N-N-No, I-I-I don't think it is. There's two of them, and they don't look human... Everyone's saying... Sans just come see!" Her tiny minuscule claws wrapped themselves around the sleeve of Sans' hoodie and pulled him outside with surprising strength she didn't even know she had. The skeleton didn't fight back, almost stumbling after his friend outside.

Surely, there was a crowd forming outside, yet thanks to the small size of the lizard and the skeleton they managed to slip to the front with ease. Each head was turned towards the direction of the bridge, where two figures were slowly making their way towards them. There was something uneasy about them, the way they moved was uncanny, too jagged for normal walking. And although they were too far to make out properly, one colour was dominant in both figures.

Red.

"What is that?" asked the purple rabbit behind them, and Sans couldn't help but glance back at her.

He was about to answer, but her twin sister beat him to it. "Maybe some humans?"

The two were definitely not 'some humans'. They were close enough to make out now, and a ripple of murmur went through the crowd. Alphys stopped her nervous chattering in surprise, and Sans felt as if every single one of his bones was being snapped in half.

Those weren't two wounded humans. Those were two wounded monsters carrying a human corpse, holding each other up as if either one of them could collapse at any moment.

A very rare Sea Wraith the colour of sapphire, one eye shined like gold, the other was non-existent, drowned in a dark hole surrounded by drying blood. It was her who was holding up mostly, but she was on her last remaining health point, and her strength was giving out.

A tall skeleton with drying tears on his cheekbones, his too-small red hoodie torn open so it showed his ribcage, a long diagonal wound dragging across his bones which still leaked blood.

And the human they were carrying, she was breathless with dark brown hair and an open mouth, her expression still of determination, yet a horrifying wound stretching from her throat right down to her crotch, her internal organs visible through the deep cut. Even from such a distance everyone could see that the human was dead and had been torn right open.

Some townsfolk took a while to recognise these people, but some recognised them immediately- Sans was one of them.

That was Undyne the Undying and Papyrus the Skeleton... and that human they were carrying... that must be... Tess Ashby, the little human girl who had worked her way into the two monsters' hearts.

The Missing Children... now adults.

Nobody was calling out to them, it was as if the crowd had frozen solid with shock, watching silently as the two monsters limped past them, not even acknowledging them, leaving a trail of their own blood in the snow.

Sans had dreamed of the day he would see Papyrus again for so many long years, how happy this scene was in his dreams, with the little skeleton still a child, innocent and carefree. Not this. Never this.

He desperately tried to catch his brother's eye as he passed him, but Papyrus would not look at him. It was like he didn't even know he was there. It hardly even seemed like Papyrus anymore. An adult, as big as Dr. Gaster, strong and formidable yet hanging on the brink of death. One hit and he was done for.

Eventually Sans couldn't take it anymore. "Papyrus!" His voice echoed helplessly around the town, through the shell-shocked crowd and back again. It was much louder than Sans had intended it to be, but right now all he cared was getting his brother's attention.

And indeed he did. The tall skeleton turned his head slowly towards him, and the impending doom of the glare set upon Sans like a die in sun aimed directly at him.

Papyrus didn't say a word.

Instead he marched on, determined beyond what monster capacity should allow, Undyne at his side with the dead human still close to their chests.

Sans was about to fling himself towards them, but was pulled violently back by his arm. He tried to wriggle himself free, except that the yellow lizard was much stronger than anybody thought at first glance.

"I-I-I-I-I don't think this i-i-i-is the r-right time S-Sans." Her teeth began to chatter, partly because of the cold and partly because of nervousness.

But Sans was desperate. He looked to his brother once more, pushing away the thought of how much he reminded him of his mother. "Who did this to you?"

This time the crowd got a reply. Two voices, barely recognisable, yet at the same time so familiar. "Lionheart," they replied in unison.

Sans felt Alphys let his arm go, but the skeleton's bones had locked together in shock, rooted to the ground.

They were too late. The lion had found the children before he did.

* * *

Dr. Gaster's device worked just as it should, just as the doctor promised. The snowy white environment of the lower snowlands melted away into the outside of the royal castle. The entrance gaped open to any and all, but instead Lionheart stepped up to wall to prop his shredded back to the bricks. For a while he stood there, catching the breath he lost.

He had to give it to those young-uns, they were good fighters with no training, and did bring him down quite low on health. His fresh wounds stung, and his usually sleek golden fur clung together in clumps of blood and ichor. Never before had he been this busted up after a battle, though he was reassured by the fact that he still won.

He still came out on top.

But the amount of wounds he'd taken dented his confidence. Never before had he felt so... weakened. And it was only two young monsters and a sentient boat that managed to bring him down to such a terrible state. If that was enough to nearly turn him to dust, what would an army of humans be?

 _Weak. You're weak Lionheart. Weak._

That's exactly what he was. Would Asgore still want him as his right-hand-man if he couldn't kill humans well enough for him? Would Lionheart be able to live with the fact that he couldn't feed his desire well enough? The thought was driving him mad.

The soul.

Of course, the soul.

Patience of course was a valuable trait, the little heart shining brighter than all the other human souls the lion had seen, glowing. Really glowing, not in one direction like a flashlight, but all around like radiance from a lantern.

Would he really get another chance like this to improve himself? After Patience, that would only leave one more to collect, and Lionheart wouldn't get another chance.

Nobody knew that he had such a powerful object at his disposal, at his command, vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do with it. He could feel it _beating_ in his pocket. Actually beating like a living heart.

Like under a trance, Lionheart reached into his pocket and took out the small blue heart, its aura shining, drawing Lionheart closer. So badly he wanted to touch it without the protective coat of orange, to feel its might against his own paw. He could see his own reflection in the soul.

"Nobody will ever know," he whispered under his breath, bringing the soul so close to his face that its light hurt his eyeballs. Yet he still stared into its endless shining blue. "Nobody will ever know if I keep you for myself, my lady starlight. You're the one that will make me stronger, the one who'll help me doom humanity." He ran the back of his paw against the protective shell that he had put up himself. Why did he? The soul was under his command, rightfully as it should.

"My lady starlight," Lionheart decided. "You are mine."

He took his hands away and allowed the soul to shatter its faintly orange shell, the casing falling apart like dust of crushed citrine. The soul shined even brighter, making Lionheart remember the bright glow of the surface-world stars, like splatters of white paint against a massive black canvas.

He reached out to touch to the little floating heart, but suddenly it was out of his reach. Panic flared as he stumbled forward, his paw flailing for it.

But it refused.

Veins and arteries started to grow out of the heart like branches out of a tree, the threads tying over themselves, reaching outwards to create a creature not seen by any eyes before.

It was the silhouette of Patience, filled in by the many of millions of shimmering blue strings reaching to every edge, the long hair nothing but mist which waved about in the wind, as if it wanted to free itself from Patience's head but couldn't. Patience had no eyes, yet Lionheart could feel her gaze, unblinking.

"Patience," Lionheart greeted her with a welcome smile. He outstretched his hand again, waiting for Patience to take it. "Join me, become my power."

Patience didn't take his outstretched paw. She didn't even move, though mist around her head wafted about as if they were underwater. Could she even move? Do anything other than stand and stare? Then Lionheart noticed the long white wound vertically along Patience's torso, leaking white fog instead of liquid, denser and thicker than the mist around her head. The wound that took her life.

"You are nothing more than a soul. You're supposed to obey your master, obey me. You can't do anything. You-"

Patience finally moved. Her left arm lifted towards Lionheart's, and the lion hero tensed with joy. She was succumbing to him! Submissive, just like she was supposed to be! Lionheart almost keened with pleasure and excitement. A human soul belonging to himself! And himself alone!

But the hand of the soul didn't fit itself into the paw of the lion. Instead her palm pressed against the back of Lionheart's hand. Cold. That was the only word that could describe the feeling of the hand. He smiled, showing his teeth at Patience. So it finally knew who its master was and-

Suddenly Lionheart tore his hand away, shaking it. Perhaps that was what touching a soul without a protective casing felt like?

When Lionheart lifted his hand to look at the place where Patience had touched him, and his eyebrow lifted.

Stone? Why was stone clinging to the ends of his fur? Lionheart's confusion only lasted an alarmingly short time.

The grey rocks turned jagged, and swallowed the individual hairs to the skin, replacing the golden back of the paw with only cold stone.

"What have you done to me?" Lionheart whispered, his pupils constricted at the sight. When he looked up, his heart leapt and he stumbled back. Her veiny hands were reached towards him, fingers outstretched and crooked as if they were claws. She staggered forward, the wound leaking cloudy substance. Patience stared, though now Lionheart could _feel_ her eyeless gaze burning through his fur like acid.

It turned out Patience wasn't as submissive and docile as Lionheart had initially thought. She was the exact opposite.

Lionheart pulled back his teeth, and his helmet appeared over his head; the inwardly turned horns unlike that of a goat or a ram, the visor pulled down so all Lionheart could see through was a t-shape on the face. He was weak and wounded, and every piece of armour was needed. In his hand his blade reappeared, still stained with Patience's blood, bright red against the silver metal, dripping wet.

He growled loudly and raised the blade above his head, before attempting the same flick that had destroyed the human mere moments before.

Though it might've been deja vu, but the creature raised her hand just like she did when she tried to protect herself when she was still alive. Just now she had no weapon.

Yet when the blade collided with the blue vein between her middle and ring finger, the blade shattered into thousands of little pieces, falling completely apart in Lionheart's paws.

Lionheart went stiff, going cold from head to toe, eyes locked on his weapon. The same, trusted weapon that overpowered three humans, one genocidal and two pacifists, was now nothing but many sharp metal fragments on the floor. And yet Patience still stepped forwards, hands held tense and ready to reach out for him again, the wound leaking more intensely the closer she got.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Lionheart screamed, stumbling back from the creature. He didn't feel comfortable with turning his back and running directly away. There _was nowhere_ to run to. The creature was blocking off the castle entrance, and the pathway to escape. All Lionheart had left was the cellar. A cellar which just so happened to house all the murdered humans that had fallen... and Lionheart sure as hell wasn't going near those things.

Yet Patience was still walking forward, each step burning a footprint into the grey concrete. She started to whisper, to hum, to breathe out sounds, and Lionheart didn't have to concentrate to understand them; they were already in his head, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

 _Undyne. Papyrus. I will never let you hurt them._

Patience took another step forward.

 _Undyne. Papyrus. I will never let you hurt them._

She was getting even closer.

 _Undyne. Papyrus. I will never let you hurt them._

"SHUT UP!" Lionheart roared, finally reminding himself that he was Captain of the Royal Guard for Asgore's sake. Sure, he may be busted up after a bone-thrilling fight but he was fully armoured and he had his helmet on! He could take this creature on with his bare fists!

He drew back his fist, a few wounds opening up slightly though he barely took any notice, before throwing it at Patience's face.

The fist did not collide with the head, but rather the palm; a feeling of shock pulsating through his entire paw as Patience's fingers clasped around it. Lionheart's courage melted away instantly, trying to tare back his fist though Patience had an iron grip. With a loud snap she broke every bone in his hand.

 _Undyne Papyrus. I will never let you hurt them._

She let him go, and Lionheart once more tumbled away from her. He clutched his wrist, realising with a falling stomach that he had lost all his feeling in that fist, and that he couldn't move it anymore.

His whole fist had turned to stone.

Before Lionheart could turn tail and run, or scream, or do _anything_ at all, Patience was already close to him. A weight dropped onto his helmet, pressing it to his scalp, and Lionheart realised with horror that Patience had placed her hand atop his head.

His legs gave out, and he fell into a sitting position, his limbs loose and unable to be controlled. Yet Patience went further still, applying more force and making Lionheart bow his head to look at his feet.

All Lionheart could do was yowl.

Yet through all this Patience's voice rang out like funeral bells, loud yet whispering, the same phrase repeated over and over again.

 _Undyne. Papyrus. I will never let you hurt them._

Lionheart tried to drown her out, shrieking out his agony once he realised that he could no longer move, and that his armour was slowly changing from metal to stone. The plague crept up his body, immobilising him. Lionheart called for help, though knowing that his face couldn't be seen past his helmet. Now his neck was stone too, slowly covering the metal helmet and the golden fur of the lion.

Finally it did. Lionheart's eyes were looking, sightless, unable to blink. His mouth was left open in an interrupted scream. Yet none of that was visible past the visor, the horns still sharp at each side of the head.

Nothing but a sitting stone statue with a bowed head.

Patience took her hand away from the statue's head, giving him an empty glare.

 _I will never let you hurt them._

* * *

The screams echoed all throughout the castle, causing a certain goat king to raise his head. The plastic watering can slipped from his white furred fingers and dropped softly onto the yellow flowers.

His long ears trembled at the horrifying sound, and he blinked to make sure it wasn't real. He didn't pick up his watering can again, letting it lay forgotten. Was it just him, or did he know that voice? It was very familiar.

Asgore flinched when he recognised the voice, though it took him a while.

Captain Lionheart never screamed. Until now.

A long, three-pointed trident appeared in one hand, exactly the colour of a setting sun. He ran outside, ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

Whatever the glowing pale blue creature was, she wasn't what Asgore was expecting. She looked so surreal, as if she wasn't even there. In her centre she held the only thing that was familiar, a shining human soul. For a moment Asgore lowered his trident, completely shocked, before he realised what was happening.

He could recognise Lionheart's helmet anywhere. The creature had her hand pressed to his head, slowly turning the captain into stone.

"Stop!" Asgore shouted, moving forward as his paws flared with bright orange fire. However the creature just raised a hand, blocking the three-tipped weapon in her hand without even turning her head to the King. The jab didn't seem to hurt the creature at all.

Asgore drew back and was about attack the creature again, when she took her hand away from Lionheart's head. But the Captain of the Royal Guard had stopped screaming, his armour and fur nothing but cold stone.

The King held his breath, a beautiful feminine voice echoing in his mind suddenly.

 _I will never let you hurt them._

What? Asgore stumbled back, his trident winking out into thin air. His eyes widened as the creature turned to him, her face completely featureless. She stepped forward, and as if by instinct Asgore stepped away. He dared not to speak, the creature staring right into his very soul.

And then the same voice spoke again.

 _My apologises, your highness_ , said the voice, just as the creature dropped down to her knees before him, bowing. _I trust you know that I did what I had to do. Your Captain was about to kill my brother and my sister. He had no intentions of handing me to you, sire_. The creature looked up at Asgore, who stood dumbfounded, rooted to the ground. _You have very little reason to trust me, I know. But it doesn't matter now, I am dead. But I do have one request of you, sire._

The creature stood to her feet, and only did Asgore realise the fact of how small and frail and fragile she really was.

 _Please_ , said the creature. _Take my soul and use it as one of the seven you need to break this wretched barrier. Please, your highness, show your subjects the cloudless, starry sky._

With those words, the creature evaporated, leaving behind only the shining blue heart. And everything went silent again. Asgore blinked, unable to process what had just happened before him. Once he came to a suitable conclusion, Asgore hung and shook his head. Another human perished, yet it took Lionheart with her.

He hesitated greatly before he took the human soul into his hands, half-expecting the creature to emerge again and turn him to stone. But when he was absolutely sure that the soul was dormant he sighed deeply and summoned out an empty container, exactly like the ones the other souls were kept in. The King hesitated again, somehow reluctant to accept this soul that handed herself over to him so willingly, but placed the little heart inside the glass tube, before it melted back into the ground. She was with the others, she was safe.

"Guards!" he called, and in a matter of moments two bulky royal guards were at his side, standing straight at his command. They were quite new recruits, 01 and 02, just finishing off their training and graduating to official members. They obviously hadn't heard Lionheart's demise, and Asgore quickly realised that he would have to tell everyone the upsetting news.

They didn't react well to the news, Asgore didn't expect them to. He knew very well that Lionheart was every monster's hero, and he could already imagine the mourning of his subjects. The two guards wanted to avenge their mentor, though understood they couldn't when Asgore told them of Lionheart's killer.

It was when that 01 spotted something coming towards them. He pointed it out uneasily, and when Asgore saw what he was on about, he understood.

Two monsters were standing there, holding each other up, covered in blood. In their arms was a corpse, and not just any corpse. A human corpse.

A horrifying memory floated up to front of Asgore's mind. His children looked so similar when they returned from the surface world...

At first Asgore didn't understand why two monsters in such a terrible state were doing here instead of at the hospital. One look at the human corpse in their hands made him understand that it was the human the monstrous soul belonged to. Another look at the two monsters, and Asgore recognised them.

How could he not? The conspiracy of the Missing Children was known by most, if not, by everybody. And even though there were different versions of the story, each spoke of the same children; a deep-blue Sea Wraith, Dr. W.D Gaster's youngest son and human girl with a light blue patient soul. He didn't even know their names, since they varied from version to version.

The Sea Wraith spoke, her bleeding mouth open around ragged breaths, her voice weak. "Your Majesty... please, let us explain" She coughed, spitting out a dribble of blood from her gills. "Our friend... our sister... she's been-" her voice failed her, so she tried again. "She-" A coughing fit took her over, and she began to shake.

"Lionheart found us," the Skeleton finished for her, taking the Sea Wraith's entire weight onto himself, clutching the dead human closer to himself. "She was killed, and Lionheart took her soul... we don't even know where." He took in a deep breath. "Undyne needs to go to the hospital... please."

Asgore's bewilderment only lasted a short while. "02, send for Dr. Gaster, he's the underground's best healer. 01, assemble as many guards as there are here and prevent anyone else from entering the castle grounds."

The two guards saluted and picked up into a run down the corridor, disappearing from sight. The King sighed and approached the pair gently.

"I can promise we will give your friend a proper funeral," he spoke softly. "But first we need to tend to your wounds. I've never known Lionheart would stoop so low as to attack two of his own kind."

"We were just standing our ground," the Skeleton explained. "She tried to protect us, she gave her life to save us..."

He starting to sob, the weight slowly getting to much for him. So he lowered them down to the ground, his skeletal arms embraced his friend as she snuggled closer to him, also drowned in tears.

"Please, please help Undyne!" The Skeleton's motivations changed instantly. "She's going to die! I don't want her to die. She... She... I can't lose her too!"

Asgore knelt beside, though anxious of them. He did not want to touch them, not when they were in a state like this.

"Dr. Gaster is coming," Asgore whispered to them. "He'll help you two soon. Then you must tell me everything that happened."

The so-called Undyne coughed out a sarcastic laugh. "And where is that ruddy low-life Lionheart? Does he have the Patient soul? Had he absorbed it already?"

Any negative opinion about Captain Lionheart was unpopular, and even though Asgore was beginning to doubt the lion's nobleness, her hateful words still managed to shock him.

"Well, um... he didn't absorb her soul... Patience actually handed herself over to me quite willingly..."

"Where is he?" snarled the Sea Wraith. "I want to break every bone in his body. I want to feel his skin tear between my claws. I want to see him with every single wound he had given us. I want to kill him."

Asgore shuddered, her broken voice sending a nasty ripple of cold fear down his spine. Even the Skeleton seemed scared of her then.

"As for murdering Lionheart... I'm afraid somebody already beat you to it."

"Your Highness!" Gaster's voice rang out, making Asgore raise his head. "I came as soon as I heard! Is it true? Is my son here?" The tall black-cloaked skeleton was running towards him, 02 following suit.

There was a thud, and Asgore realised that the two monsters have fallen down, their eyes closed. They were so close together, clutching onto each other as well as their human friend- who ironically was the only one with her eyes open.

* * *

It was a little coffin, wooden and without much attention to detail. Atop the lid was painted a tiny blue heart, and assembled a bouquet of big, blooming echoflowers, each strangely silent. They didn't even repeat anything that was said around them, as if they knew this wasn't a time for useless babbling.

Undyne stood still, her two hands holding onto each other tightly. It was weird to see everyone all in black. She herself was wearing a tuxedo, and a black silken cloth covering her eye. She looked around.

There were Mettaton and Napstablook, both in top-hats and bow-ties, not even exchanging glances between themselves. Mettaton had his eyes closed, and Napstablook had to tap his side at a few points to prevent him from floating too far in any direction. They hadn't taken the news of Tess' death lightly, especially Mettaton, who had locked himself in his house and didn't come out until it was time to leave for the funeral, his cousin being equally as silent.

There was the King, standing there standing next to the two ghosts, also in deep thought. His ear flicked, and he noticed Undyne looking at him. He gave her a nod and a reassuring blink, before looking away, as if he couldn't bare to hold Undyne's gaze. There was an unfamiliar yellow lizard standing next to him, dressed in a long black dress, black foxgloves adorning her head. She seemed also genuinely sad, even though Undyne had never met her before. Who was she? She didn't let herself focus on the stranger for too long, and instead looked at the others.

Most of her old classmates had come, now grown up and graduated from school. Some Undyne still remembered, others she forgot the names of. Even those bullies that made her schoollife a living hell had turned up, much to Undyne's surprise. Naturally she stayed away from them, but seeing them here... it was as if their old feud had been momentarily forgotten. Even Miss. Bianca- their old teacher- had turned up. Next to them was Grillby, who looked less blazing than usual. Why he had come was a mystery to Undyne, but she wasn't complaining. The barman was looking at his feet, as if he couldn't bear to look at anyone.

Boat and the River Person were standing side by side, not looking much different than they did in everyday life. The River Person stood so still one might assume it was dead, yet Boat was the only one who was making any noise. Quiet whimpering, its wooden ears flattened against its head. If it still had a tail, it would be drumming it on the ground in distress. And laying beside the massive wooded steed was a small white dog, its head resting on its paws.

And there was a shadow on the wall, cast by nobody. A human shadow, with short-cut hair and an oversized sweater... or maybe that was just Undyne's imagination.

On a low tree branch, Flowey stayed, his roots wrapped so tightly around the branch it would snap at any moment. Though he was the only one that didn't look sad. Instead, he just looked... quiet. His yellow petals fluttered, swaying from side to side, lost in thought. His mouth was moving, silently talking to himself, though as much as Undyne tried to lip-read his words, she had no idea what he was saying. He caught her staring, and he sighed and beckoned her over with a leaf. Undyne slowly padded over to him, causing a few heads to go up.

"How are you holding up?" whispered Undyne, propping her back up against the trunk of the tree. Flowey lowered his head so he was side by side with the Sea Wraith, his eyes still locked onto the coffin.

"You know I can't feel anything," replied the yellow flower, gnashing his teeth. "A soulless creature like me can't feel, exactly."

"You told us your soppy backstory already," said Undyne. "Did your Chara have a funeral like this?"

Flowey grimaced at her. "Of course they did. History does repeat itself, it would seem. But you know I should be asking you the same question- but I'm not going to because I don't care."

This was common of the yellow flower to be so brash, Undyne didn't pay his jibe much attention. Her fin flicked.

"Wait a minute," her head perked up and she turned to face her old friend. "Flowey, you said you've lived in other timelines, didn't you?"

Flowey blinked in surprise. "Well... yes. Yes I did say that. What's that got to do with anything?"

Undyne's brow wrinkled as she lowered her tone. "Granted I don't know how you powers work or what they even are, but can't you do something that'll bring Tess back to life?"

Flowey made sure nobody was listening, before answering. "There's a problem with that my dear. I can't reset anymore- I've lost my powers for some reason."

Her golden eye widened in shock. "How can you lose your powers Flowey? That doesn't make any sense!" she shouted as quietly as she could.

"I've tried resetting, a lot actually, ever since Lionheart found your little hideout," Flowey admitted, for the first time sounding embarrassed and worried at the same time. The expression looked out of place on Flowey's face, and Undyne couldn't help but feel unsettled by it. "I tried to load my save file repeatedly when you and Papyrus were busy with that fleabag, it didn't work."

Despite not knowing what a 'save file' was, Undyne grew concerned. "Why would that happen? Have you told anyone else about this?"

Flowey shook his head. "You and Papyrus are the only ones that I've told about my power." He sighed. "But I do know why this happened. Something was born with bigger determination than I."

"Can a thing be born with an overdose of determination?"

If Flowey could shrug his shoulders, he would. "That's the only explanation. How ironic, don't you think? That something is born with an excessive amount of determination the exact day our Tess took her last breath."

Quietly saying goodbye to the flower, Undyne left him to his own thoughts. Instead she made her way over to her best friend.

The three skeletons had also shown up at the funeral, which already exceeded Undyne's expectations. Dr. Gaster still looked the same as he always did, his clothes blacker than even the River Person's entire being. And was this the first time Undyne had seen Sans wear anything other than shorts and a blue hoodie? And Papyrus...

They haven't talked since Dr. Gaster fixed them up, because Papyrus stayed at the hospital. He hadn't properly seen his family in over six years, after all.

All while Undyne got out after Dr. Gaster deemed her back at full health, returning to the northern neighbourhood in the dark marshlands of Waterfall. Returning 'home' was nostalgic, but not in the nice way Undyne had always envisioned it, especially now that she was back at square one.

"Hey," Papyrus greeted her quietly, his eyes darting sideways as Undyne settled in her place beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not dead yet," replied Undyne. "Well, at least I don't think I'm dead."

Papyrus clearly wanted to argue, but realised this was not the best time. "What did Flowery say to you?"

" _Flowey_ ," Undyne corrected him. "He told me he tried to make things all right, but he's lost his powers."

"He's lost his powers?" Papyrus echoed, horrified. He didn't even notice Sans obviously eavesdropping. "How are things going to be okay now?"

She forced a smile at him, though her heart wasn't in it. "Tess is getting a proper burial... She deserves at least that much after all..." Undyne thought she had no tears left to cry, but the warm stream that rolled down her cheek proved her otherwise. She gritted her teeth. "If only I had fought harder..."

"It wasn't your fault," Papyrus started, but Undyne cut him off.

"I should've died with her. I should've turned to dust at her side so we both-"

"It wasn't your fault, you couldn't've done anything," this time it was Papyrus who cut across her. His hand found its way into Undyne's, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You didn't ask to be attacked, you didn't want Lionheart to come in and starting hurting us. It wasn't your fault."

Undyne wiped away her tears. "Okay, it wasn't my fault... got it. Might as well make sure we make it to the surface for her, and for us. She wanted us to see the night sky, whatever that is."

And the silence was scared away by the music. Tess' MP3 player had been connected to an old aux they had found in the trash dump. A quiet song was playing, its tune like a ghostly whisper, the words echoing. _Of Monsters and Men_ , that was the band's name... Undyne knew the songs on the MP3 as well as Tess herself did. What a fitting name.

 _Don't listen to a word I say_

 _The screams all sound the same_

 _Though the truth may vary_

 _This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore..._


	13. Chapter 12: Skeleton and Sea Wraith

Throughout the next year Undyne suffered a lot of sleepless nights. Always when she thought she could have a peaceful rest, the epileptic visions would start to dance behind her eyelids- red and white dominating over the other colours. The nightmares would always end with a flash of bright blue light and evil laughter- where Undyne would wake with a start.

She had forgotten what it was like to have a house so quiet and still and lifeless. Where was Tess' breathing, Papyrus' snoring? The blue walls and kitchen and bedroom were not her home, nothing like the old hermit's house in the lower snow lands. A lot of times Undyne had to cuddle into the ages-old patchwork jacket, or listen to the busted MP3 to lull her into an uncomfortable sense of security. Somehow her Waterfall home felt colder than the one in isolated tundra.

 _Knock knock._

Undyne woke with a start- thankfully one might say, since the dream hadn't exactly been any different from all the other ones. She looked up wearily at the clock, which read midnight, and wondered why there was someone knocking at the door. She burrowed her head into her pillow, willing for them to go away, yet the knocking persisted. The person did seem to have a lot of patience...

Sighing and abandoning all hope of falling asleep, Undyne stood to her feet and found her way to the door in the dark. It opened, and Undyne felt her spirit lift for the first time in forever.

"Papyrus? What are you doing here?"

The skeleton gave her a small smile. "I came to see how you were holding up. I... I didn't wake you, did I?"

Undyne was shaking her head. "I've actually been having trouble sleeping."

"Yeah, me too."

Undyne moved aside to let Papyrus inside. The light flickered, and it took her a while to adjust to the suddenly bright light. She invited Papyrus to take a seat before getting the kettle brewing. "How's the lab? You have bigger company now there, don't you?"

"Dad hadn't changed," Papyrus replied, fidgeting with his hands on the table.

"He's still mainly concerned with his work, but he has been glad to see me. Sans was over the moon, but he has been following me everywhere... that's why I came here at night."

Undyne nodded her head in understanding. "What about that new girl?"

"Her name's Alphys," said Papyrus. "Now she's Sans' best friend since Lionheart got turned to stone. But she has been asking a lot about you," he added with a mischievous grin. "I think she likes you."

Undyne snarled under her breath. "She doesn't even know me. But I'm flattered that someone thinks I'm attractive."

Papyrus shrugged his shoulders as Undyne served the tea- golden flower tea, Tess' favourite. She sat down opposite him with a mug of her own, warming up her hands as steam rose from the golden liquid.

"Is that the scarf Tess made you?"

Papyrus nodded, taking a sip of the tea. Lucky he didn't have a tongue otherwise he would've burned it right off. He began to stroke his hands along the silky material nervously. It had been made from the old hermit's red curtains, the majority of which was eaten by moths.

"It's the only thing I have left of her," he explained, fiddling with the holey end of the scarf. "You've got her jacket, so you can't complain."

"I wasn't complaining." Undyne took a sip, then downed the entire mug in a single gulp. Some even leaked out her gills. "Lay off, punk," she hissed before Papyrus could even point it out. She put down the mug with a thud, almost smashing it to pieces, and sighed deeply. "Asgore had proposed that I become the Captain of the Royal Guard."

It was only a few months since Undyne had been made a Royal Guardsman, and while she had some resentment towards her membership to a group she had hated, all the others had been so supportive and so kind and nice towards her. Even her old bullies, which she hadn't been aware had joined the Royal Guard, had been somewhat sympathetic. Undyne had made more friends in the Royal Guard than in her entire life- actually scratch that. Tess and Papyrus were worth more than all the monsters she knew before or after.

Papyrus stopped fidgeting at once. "Congratulations! You'd make a wonderful Captain! And to be asked by His Majesty himself? It's an honour!"

Undyne exhaled a sharp breath. "Yeah, I would've said the same thing back when we were at school. Now the position had become somewhat ruined for me."

Papyrus swatted his hand as if it was nothing. "He's seen your true potential! I'd love to be part of the Royal Guard!" He stared off into space, chasing some unseen dream. "Think how powerful and popular I'd be if I were a Royal Guardsman."

Undyne rolled her eyes. "Since there is no Captain, the King decides who gets to be a Guardsman and who doesn't."

Papyrus blinked at her. "But once you become a Captain you'll make me a member of the Royal Guard, right?"

But Undyne didn't reply at first, and the pause lasted so long that Papyrus snapped out of his hopeful daydreaming and give Undyne a confused glare. "You will make me a member of the Royal Guard, right? Right?"

"It's not that I won't," Undyne murmured quietly "I'm saying that I'm not accepting King Asgore's offer."

Papyrus looked as if someone just told him that he didn't receive any presents for Christmas. "What? But that's the biggest honour you could possibly achieve! Don't you know how many of the Royal Guard would've given up everything to be the Captain? Everyone says that the new Captain will be the one who sets us all free."

The loud thud made Papyrus jump, and it took him a few moments to realise that Undyne had hit her own forehead against the table, some of the tea spilling out of Papyrus' mug.

"Papyrus, you're a genius."

The skeleton blushed and rubbed the back of his skull, flustered. "Oh dear, I- know that, but why the sudden flattery?"

"It's just one human soul we need now to be set free," Undyne whispered. "One more human soul and I can keep Tess' promise for her." She reached into the pocket of the patchwork jacket, her webbed hand clutching the precious MP3. "She wanted us to reach the surface." She raised her head slowly to look at Papyrus. "Do you think the ocean's a real thing?"

Papyrus shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant 'IDK' noise. "Tessy also said that the sky is blue. Sometimes I actually thought Tess just made those things up, but Alphys said it's all real. She has these human-history books, and there's pictures!"

"I'll be sure to stop by the lab at some point," Undyne promised. "But what I can definitely promise you is that I will set everyone free. Think of it Papyrus, we'll see the sky, the ocean, everything Tess told us about! Just imagine it!"

Papyrus tried his best to imagine everything.

* * *

Undyne had never been in such a crowded room. There was so much monsters in the king's courtyard the faces melted together to be indistinguishable- yet Undyne knew that Papyrus was somewhere in that crowd. She couldn't distinguish his voice either, for the whole room seemed to be cheering her name.

And yet she walked alone down the thin passage, heavy black armour clacking together with every move she made. The footsteps were somehow louder than the millions of voices calling her name. In one hand he held the biggest spear she could summon, glowing and humming, as if it was singing but forgot the words.

King Asgore stood grandly before his throne, the deep purple cape billowing behind him in the breeze, the golden armour catching the light. An angelic creature he was, his goat-horns like a halo. And, like Undyne, he wielded a massive, long weapon in one hand- his signature ruby-red trident. The king stabbed the air with his trident, and in an instant the entire courtyard fell silent.

And now Undyne's footsteps were louder than anything else as she finished walking up to the throne. The walk seemed to last forever, yet it was over faster than she could even blink.

King Asgore was still the greatest monster in the underground, that ever existed. Now that Undyne stepped in front of him she felt a great tremor cause her heart to pound.

"Kneel," the king ordered.

Undyne obeyed. She plunged her spear into the ground at the king's feet, and dropped down to her knees before him. A murmur went through the crowd, and Undyne's heart leapt, full of emotion; she was proud, astonished, scared, uneasy and happy, all at the same time.

"You are Undyne the Undying, the Sea Wraith with scales the colour of sapphire, one of the three Missing Children," said the king. "You are a worthy member of the Royal Guard, a warrior we can rely on, a soldier we can cheer on."

The king tapped both her shoulders with his trident, the clinks of metal against metal echoing throughout the whole room.

He beckoned over one of the sentries, which happened to be a pure white Snowdog. It was her father's family... by extension hers. The Snowdog brought forward a helmet as black as the deepest night.

"Before I place the helmet over your head, Undyne, you must swear your loyalty to the Kingdom of Monsters."

Undyne could hardly get the words past her tight throat, though she did manage to speak the promise that every new Captain must uphold.

"I swear as the Captain to serve you, as I will with your subjects and anyone who calls for my aid. I will lead your armies to glory, I will make sure your people are safe, and I will protect anyone who is weaker than I am."

She lifted her head, and the King fitted the black helmet over her head. It was snug, fitted perfectly to the shape of her face. The openings for the eyes were separate, and the mouth was carved in the shape of a jagged, zig-zagged line. "Arise Captain Undyne the Undying."

And so Undyne stood, fully armoured, and drew her spear from the ground. As she did so, the entirety of the watching monsters erupted into thunderous applause.

* * *

"You're stirring it too slowly."

"I'm stirring it as fast as I can for heaven's sake!"

Undyne rolled her eyes, though the alternate option was to teach Papyrus to fight. He had come to her (again at midnight because Sans was still paranoid that he would go missing for another six years) asking to be made a member of the Royal Guard. And now that Undyne was the Captain, she had no excuse that she couldn't.

But Papyrus? A Royal Guardsman? It seemed selfish of Undyne, since Papyrus had fought alongside her against Lionheart and was actually pretty freaking tough, but she couldn't do it. Being in the Royal Guard meant going to war with dangerous humans- a thousand times more powerful than Tess. Undyne knew it all now, Alphys had shown her everything. Fully-evolved humans had awesome powers that they needed to learn and control, were capable of wielding swords up to twenty times their own size. No wonder Tess was so shabby- her 'quirks' and unreal abilities hadn't kicked in yet.

But letting Papyrus- _Papyrus_ of all monsters- fight a fully-powered up human was a horrible idea. Granted he did hold his own against Lionheart quite well, but he never went for the kill. He could never truly hurt anybody else. He could never be the fierce warrior he always wanted to be.

So instead Undyne decided to teach him how to cook, to keep his mind off the dream he would never realise. And it was the only time Undyne truly thanked Papyrus' naivety.

* * *

Papyrus came home from Undyne's around five o'clock in the morning. At this rate Papyrus would become nocturnal, which wouldn't be allowed to happen because he had a lot of things to do. He had to cook, to train and finally become that Royal Guardsman that he always wanted to be.

The door was thankfully unlocked, just as he left it, and he stepped inside. The lights were all off, and Papyrus yawned. He should be able to get a full hour of sleep and still wake up before anybody else did.

He took the elevator down into the True Lab, where he and his family slept. Alphys had moved in last week, and honestly she wasn't that much of a problem. The more, the merrier. It was a shame that Undyne hated Hotland so much, otherwise Papyrus would've been able to persuade her to come live with them.

He was expecting silence of the night, yet instead what he was greeted with hysterical weeping. Thinking it was a nightmare, Papyrus rapped his fist against the side of his skull to make sure it wasn't a dream.

This sounded like a job for the Great Papyrus, didn't it? He headed left towards his father's main working area, where he was working on a weird Gaster-Blaster-like machine.

Yet when he came to the sight, his father was nowhere in sight, and the two short monsters were standing so still they seemed like statues themselves. The yellow lizard was crying, her claws covering her mouth, while Sans just stood there, motionless.

"Is... Is everything alright?" Papyrus hazard asking, cocking his head to the side in question. The two lab assistants jumped in fright, their terrified gazes met Papyrus' confused one. _Well the question is definitely rhetorical,_ Papyrus decided. _They're definitely not alright._

"I can make you guys some spaghetti to cheer you up!" Papyrus tried to bring them up after what he could only assume was a failed experiment. "Call Dad over and we can have breakfast."

At Gaster's mention Alphys just replied with a huge sob. "Gaster's..."

Papyrus looked to Sans when she couldn't finish. "Where's Dad?"

All Sans could say was; "Dad's gone."

* * *

"I don't know how you do it," Undyne said one day.

Papyrus paused in stirring the soup to give her a questioning gaze. He seemed flattered already, even though Undyne hadn't specified what _exactly_ was it that Papyrus did. "It? What's it?"

"'It' as in how you're so cheerful all the time," Undyne specified, picking random notes on her piano. She had angled it away from the doorway so that the massive gash Lionheart left on the black paint would not be visible. "You lost more than anybody ever should, and yet you're so happy all the time. How do you do it?"

Papyrus only shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I just think to myself what others would've wanted if I was the one who was gone..." he looked Undyne square in the face. "I wouldn't want people to be sad after I've gone. I would want them to be happy, to tell happy memories of me instead of crying. That's what my mum and dad would've wanted, for me and Sans to be happy after they've gone." He raised his head to look at the ceiling. "Tess always said that she wanted us to see her surface world, that she would find a way to set us free. I guess that handing herself over to Asgore was her way of bringing us closer to finally being free. She would want us to be happy."

"That's the most serious thing I've ever heard you say," Undyne pointed out, laughing quietly.

"The Great Papyrus is always very serious about everything!" Papyrus said, accidentally dropping his wooden spoon with a loud clatter onto the ground. "I always provide moral support for everyone! Just do what I do, believe that everyone will be good if they just tried."

"You dropped your spoon."

* * *

Undyne could feel terror seep into her at the sight of the pure white landscape. She could hardly recall the wonder upon first seeing it all those years ago, untouched and preserved as if it had been stuck in time itself.

There were trees, still yet blurry, around the house she had spent six of her years living in, which seemed so close yet so out of her reach. And in front of the house stood Tess.

She was beautiful, standing there, smiling at Undyne and waving over at her. So genuine...

"No..." Undyne whispered to herself, then began to shout. "Tess! Tess get away from there!" Her legs couldn't move, forbidding her to run over to her, or even move at all.

Tess crooked her head to the side like a listening dog- one of her less-common habits. "Are you okay Undyne?" she asked, puzzled and worried. "You're freaking out."

"You have to run!" Undyne kept yelling. "Please! Run!

Thought Tess just looked confused. She shuffled her hands in the pockets of her beloved patchwork jacket, then looked back towards the house.

The lights had switched themselves on, and Undyne's stomach creeped further up her throat. "Tess you have to run! Run!"

"Undyne?" The girl began to back away from the house, which began to purr deeply and ominously, like the start of a tank's engine. "Undyne what's happening?"

The house burst open, shrapnel and shattered wood blown apart in all directions. From the depths of the house there came a horrible creature, a real monster, with glowing amber eyes, mane and claws of curled golden fire. It roared and laughed coldly, raising its long silver weapon above its head, ready to bring it down upon Tess' head. Tess screamed and finally began to run, yet it was too late. Undyne knew it. The creature slammed its fists down into the ground, flinging snow into the air and rendering the human no longer visible.

Finally she could run, and she ran forward so suddenly that she stumbled before breaking into a desperate sprint. She ran straight into the snowy fog, hands reaching out blindly.

She caught Tess in her arms.

The human had always been smaller than her, yet now she seemed so tiny. She collapsed right into Undyne, her hands gripping the fins on her back. And down the front of her torso, from her throat to her crotch, was a deep gash leaking red.

"Undyne!" She was trembling. "Undyne it hurts. It hurts so much."

"Don't worry, I've got you," Undyne stammered, clutching her human closer to her, hoping that her own body would block the massive wound that could not be closed. "I've got you, I've got you."

Tess had began to sob. "Don't let me go Undyne. Please, don't let me go."

"I won't," Undyne promised. "I won't ever."

Yet her skin started to crumble, she started to slip, to melt. Her breathing became quieter, her grip loosening.

In the corner of her eye she noticed the familiar yellow flower growing idly out of the ground, staring with his emotionless, empty eyes. "Let her go," he said to her.

"SHUT UP!" Undyne shouted. "COME AND HELP ME!"

But Flowey just stayed where he stayed, watching.

And Tess was crying.

It was so hard to hold onto her.

Impossible.

"No!" Undyne said, looking down into Tess' face.

And the whole thing hit her all at once. The moment this whole thing had building up to.

"NO!" Undyne screamed one final time.

And Tess spilled into white dust, blown away by the breeze.

"Let her go."

Undne woke with a start, screaming, the white, the red; it was all gone now. She was sweating, taking in deep breaths through her mouth as her single slitted pupil widened to adjust to the darkness.

Her hands were trembling, as if she had really tried to hold on with all her might.

 _I can't._


	14. Chapter 13: Never Forgotten

Undyne and Papyrus walked together along the top of the cliffs in Waterfall, revisiting their old haunts. The glowing rocks illuminated their path as small monsters poked their heads out of their hiding places to get a glimpse of them- or rather the Captain. She was a rather spectacular sight to look at, the way her hair flowed like fire, the way her single eye glazed like gold, the way her deep blue scales sparkled in the dim light. Put into simple words: The Captain of the Royal Guard was beautiful.

Many monsters had tried to get together with Undyne, though the pretty Sea Wraith had denied her heart to anyone who had tried to make a move on her. And seeing that tall skeleton- son of the late Dr. Gaster- by her side made their blood boil.

Even now as Papyrus and Undyne walked side-by-side, the monsters stared. Undyne's fin flicked, aware. She leaned over to whisper lowly to her adoptive sort-of brother. "People are staring. Let's go over to mine."

"Don't you like it when people stare?" Papyrus said. "It makes me feel sort of popular!" He smiled widely, closing his eyes. "But we'll be doing cooking again, won't we?"

"Yup!"

As they made their way back to Undyne's, they began to talk again.

The ceiling was shining brighter than most days. Undyne raised her head to look at them. What was it that Gerson had said about the shiny rocks in the ceiling? That they were there to imitate something called 'stars'. Tess had told them about stars, that the moon (whatever that was) was their caretaker and that the stars would grant wishes if they fell. Undyne loved that story, and no matter how much Alphys had insisted she didn't have a book about that, Undyne still scurried her history books for tales of the fallen stars that didn't want to grant wishes.

"Papyrus, you think we can wish upon those glowy-ceiling-rocks just as the humans wish upon stars?" Undyne suddenly asked.

Papyrus shrugged his shoulders. They were wading through calf-deep water now, which both of them were used to doing, past many echoflowers along the way. The glowing blue flowers really added a nice touch to the dark waterfall, which was lucky because the echoflowers only grew in dark, damp places. "It'd be cool if we did."

However Undyne pushed on. "What's your wish?"

Papyrus pulled his thinking face. "Hmmm... if I say my wish, you promise you won't laugh at me?"

Undyne shook her head with a smile. "Of course I won't laugh!"

He took a deep breath and said his wish, looking up at the glowing rocks above. "Someday, I'd like to climb this mountain we're all buried under. Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around... That's my wish."

Undyne snorted, and began to laugh. It was so obvious that Tess' stories had made a huge impact of the skeleton, and to be honest, they did on Undyne too. If it wasn't for Tess none of them would know how things on the surface really were.

A faint blush of embarrassment made its way onto Papyrus' face. "Hey! You said you wouldn't laugh at it!"

"Sorry, it's just funny," said Undyne. "That's my wish, too."

The lawn in front of Undyne's house had not changed even the tiniest bit from when they were children. The dummy was still there, idle yet never beaten. The house itself was still special, built like a gigantic head of a sea monster. But it was surprising that it hadn't burned down yet. A miracle one might say.

Flowey waited for the two in front of Undyne's house, patiently waiting for god even knows how long. His face brightened pleasantly upon the duo's sight, and he called their names happily.

Papyrus waved cheerfully back at him, while Undyne just smiled. Was she the only one who remembered that Flowey couldn't really feel emotions? He was really good at imitating them, like- _reeeeeaaaallly_ good, but he didn't actually feel them. He was pretty insistent on not letting them forget. But that didn't matter- Flowey was one of Undyne's best friends. They could trust him.

"There you two are," Flowey greeted them with a comical bow of the head. "I've been waiting for you for thirty minutes! Where have you been?"

"We're back from the lab," Papyrus explained helpfully. "You know Mettaton has a new movie coming out? It's a robotic-adaptation of that famous very-real human event _Full-Metal Alchemist_."

That Undyne was genuinely excited about; it was one of Undyne's favourite stories and she sometimes wondered why Tess hadn't been talking more about them. They were all just so cool! Human were much cooler than monsters- Undyne knew that much. But then again the movie might come out as Mettaton's other film- which was just a four-hour unedited clip of petals falling over his metallic body.

"Ever since Alphys made Mettaton that body he's been a total buzzkill," Undyne sighed, shaking her head. "Napsta's all alone now. Hey, want to go pay him a visit?"

Papyrus nodded his head vigorously, always on board with whatever idea Undyne had in mind, but Flowey shook his head.

"Look, I came here to tell you two something very important," he said before the two could skip off and his chance to speak would be over. "I know I can trust you two."

 _I know I can trust you two._

Woah... Undyne's fin flicked in interest. Flowey had told them secrets before- but this time his voice rung like a wedding bell, full of hope and barely suppressed excitement.

"Woah! It's so awesome to be trusted by someone so cool!" Papyrus squeaked. "You hear that Undyne? Flowey trusts me!"

"Who would want to trust anyone else?" Undyne answered truthfully. Papyrus beamed brighter.

"I don't know in what way you'll take this," Flowey warned. "But this is really important."

"Really important?"

"Really important."

"Like; reeeeaaaallly important?"

"...Yes."

The flower shook his head, pollen falling to the ground like gold dust. "Another human has fallen down."

Undyne's heart stopped. A human... A real human being- physical body, colourful souls, everything Alphys' history books depicted. Undyne hadn't seen a real-life human being since Tess... and she wasn't she if she ever wanted to. Her fins flattened against her head in thought.

As Captain it was her duty to hunt down the human and deliver the last soul to the King, and then the monsters would be free. Free to see every single thing Tess had told them about. The sky, the fields that stretch out for miles, the ocean...

But taking a human's soul... Undyne blinked and the horrifying face of the lion appeared behind her eyelids. No... she couldn't. She shook her head.

"Where are they?" Undyne asked instead.

Flowey's petals fluttered like bird's wings. "They're in the ruins now, but I know they won't take long to walk with the rest of us monsters." He looked at Papyrus. "You know this is the chance to free all monsterkind from our prison."

Papyrus furrowed his skeletal brow. "I want to see the surface world," he said definitively.

"I don't know if I can do this," Undyne said. Suddenly her face brightened. "Papyrus, I think you're ready to take your assessment."

"Assessment?" Papyrus echoed, though his face began to flush.

Undyne smiled at him. "You know, your assessment that you need to pass to get into the Royal Guard. I have a task for you."

"Oh goodie!" Papyrus cheered, bouncing up and down. "If I succeed I'll finally be a member!?"

"...Yes. Now Papyrus, the assessment is simple. You must capture this human and deliver them to me," Undyne instructed. "You can use any method you like, and I know you like puzzles."

"I can capture them with puzzles!?" Papyrus got more and more excited. "Oh god! I'm going to be part of the Royal Guard! You can count on me Undyne!"

With that he sprinted away.

Flowey extended his stem so he was eye-level with Undyne. It was a trick he did often to talk closely to the tall monsters, so Undyne was not surprised when he did this. It was one of the least surprising things Flowey could do.

"You're never going to let him into the Royal Guard, are you?" he whispered discretely. His eyes stared; they were big, black and empty. "Undyne?"

"If King Asgore breaks the barrier, there will be war," Undyne spoke softly. "I want Papyrus as far away from the war as possible. I can't afford to lose him too."

Flowey turned so his face was now in front of her, concerned. "And what about that human? Everybody will be expecting you to do something about it. Nobody will be fooled by the anthropomorphic-furry-monster excuse anymore- it's been done before."

Undyne's gills flared. "What should I do then? I don't want to kill them, I'm not going to be like Lionheart."

The flower made sure nobody was around to overhear their conversation. "How else are you going to keep your promise to Tessy?"

Heaving a great sigh, Undyne sat on the ground. "Flowey, may I ask you question?"

"Fire away."

"Will I be as bad as Lionheart if I do my duty?"

Flowey pursed his lips in thought. "No," he said finally. "Lionheart relished in killing- he was a pure psychopath. You... you're just doing what you need to do. Your people need you to be strong, they want to be set free. You want to be free, don't you?"

Undyne bowed her head. "Yes."

"You don't even need to know them," Flowey continued. "You'll feel no remorse if you kill a person you never knew."

 _I'm not sure about tha_ t, Undyne thought to herself, still skeptical. But Flowey had a point. She found herself nodding her head. "Thanks for everything Flowey. I know what I have to do now."

She turned away from her flower friend and walked straight into her house.

* * *

Papyrus had been preparing his puzzles all day, making them as difficult as he could- but so that he himself could solve it. Alphys had helped with one of them, and he knew that the human couldn't possibly pass that one.

He had yelled at Sans for not recalibrating his puzzles, because this was a big day and they needed to be ready. He was so nervous it made him have butterflies in his stomach and he didn't even have one.

Thankfully Sans was where he was supposed to be, and Papyrus was thankful that Sans could at least be awake for this very important, super-secret meeting.

"Bro, is a human really that much to rallied about?" Sans pointed out. "Is this about impressing Captain Undyne?" He yawned.

Papyrus couldn't see why Sans was being so calm and collected. A human was about to come walking through the higher snowlands any moment now! How could anyone be calm for _tha_ t?

Papyrus tried to imagine what the human would look like- Flowey didn't give any description. The last- and only- human Papyrus had seen had been Tess Ashby, and that was thirteen long years ago now. And Alphys had shown him that humans come in all sorts of variation and had all sorts of crazy quirks, that famous legend ' _My Hero Academia_ ' had confirmed it. What would this one look like?

He imagined the human as tall, always smaller than he was, with long, ragged dark brown hair that many people mistook for black, with eyes that gleamed the colour of polished silverware and a bright blue soul and-

The human in his mind's eye looked painfully familiar. Papyrus shook the image away, as thinking about her was painful.

"Anyways, as I was saying about Undyne..." He caught something in the corner of his eye. Another monster? But it looked different than any other monster Papyrus had seen. He turned fully to look closely at the creature that stood there among the white snow. He cocked his head to the side in confusion.

The creature was small, about the same size as his own brother Sans. It had shoulder-length hair the colour of drinking chocolate, the eyes were the same colour. The shape of face was different, though if Papyrus squinted, he could assume that the creature's hands and lower jaw were identical to Tess' and-

The creature gave him a quizzical look, and Papyrus turned to Sans for an explanation, who in turn looked at the creature. Back and forth the gazes turned, between Sans, Papyrus and whoever that was.

Eventually Papyrus turned his back and bent lower so he and Sans could whisper. "Sans, oh my God. Is that... a human?"

Sans shrugged and pointed to the rock behind the creature. "Uhhh, I think that's a rock, bro."

"Oh," said Papyrus, disappointed.

But then Sans piped up again. "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?" He pointed to the creature, who looked even more confused than before.

Now that Papyrus looked, it bore many similarities with his human sister, despite looking so different. "Oh my God!" _Of course! Humans look different just like monsters! How could I have forgotten?_ he thought to himself, but turned to Sans. "Is that a human?" he whispered for clarification.

"Yes."

Papyrus filled his lungs (which he didn't have) with air and screamed; "OH MY GOD!" so loudly that the branches around shook. "Sans! I finally did it! Undyne will... I'm gonna... I'll be so..." he didn't even know what to say. "Popular!"

Never before had anybody looked so confused as the little human right then and there.

Papyrus cleared his throat. Now, to make a good first impression. "Human! You shall not pass this area!" He sounded so grand and powerful when he said that, at least according to himself. "I, The Great Papyrus, will stop you! I will then capture you! You will be delivered to the capital! Then... Then..." He paused for a moment. "I'm not sure what happens next." Perhaps the King could nicely ask this human to give up their soul? It was for the greater good. Yep, that would be definitely what would happen. King Asgore was nothing like Captain Lionheart.

"In any case!" continued Papyrus, pointing a long finger in the human's direction. "Continue, only if you dare!"

...

...

/::/

...

...

Papyrus hadn't expected it. This human... he loved puzzles. He was brilliant, taking time to solve every puzzle Papyrus had set for him, and he had even exchanged a few friendly words with the mysterious human.

Papyrus stood there in the middle of the snowfield between the Waterfall marshlands and Snowdin, in complete thought. The human was so nice, so intelligent, so much like Tess...

Suddenly the sound of footsteps reached him, and Papyrus looked over his shoulder. The human was there, standing in the cold in his purple-and-blue hand-knitted sweater. His eyes were very brown and very wide, staring straight at him.

The skeleton sighed and turned to face the human fully. If anybody deserved an explanation, it was him. "Human. Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings. Feelings like, the joy of finding another pasta lover, the admiration for another's puzzle-solving skills, the desire to have a cool, smart person think you are cool."

Again the human just looked confused, though less so than the first time Papyrus had seen him.

"These feelings... they must be what you are feelings right now!"

The human's shoulders dropped.

"I pity you, lonely human," he said, once more pointing his finger in the human's direction. "Worry not! You shall be lonely no longer! I, The Great Papyrus, will be your-"

He caught himself mid-sentence.

As much as Papyrus now had second thoughts, this human was needed for the freedom of all monsterkind. One soul would change everything for them. Undyne was counting on him. It didn't matter what this one was like; he couldn't befriend another human. This human couldn't be his friend.

 _Why not?_ Asked a voice inside his head, once strangely familiar, though Papyrus shook it away.

"No, this is all wrong," he announced, turning away. "I can't be your friend! You are a human!" _Tess was human too, though..._ "I must capture you! Then, I can fulfil my lifelong dream! Become the newest member of the Royal Guard!"

Terror flashed through the human's face, though only for a second. His red soul appeared before his chest, vulnerable yet strong... Papyrus pushed the memories from his mind.

"Papyrus," the human called out. His voice was pure tenor, and very pleasant to listen to, perhaps even more than Flowey's. But wait... _the human knew his name..._ "I don't want to fight you!"

Papyrus hesitated but outstretched his arm. The human's soul was covered with a thick sheet of navy, and bones burst from the ground. He was forced to run and dodge his attacks. He was much harder to hit than Lionheart...

- _Papyrus' right eye fared a deep red-orange colour, so brightly it looked as if it was on fire. A creature behind him appeared out of nowhere, just like his bone attacks. However it wasn't just a mere cartoon-ish bone, but a long, slender animal skull, eyes burning the same colour as Papyrus' was. The dragon skull opened its jaws to give one mighty roar that caused the sounds of battle to sound like the faint giggle of a baby by comparison. Lionheart's eyes widened as the floating skull fired a bright white beam of light towards him. He didn't have time to react; Lionheart was swallowed by the light._

He shook his head, trying his hardest to push away the bitter memories. Why was he suddenly remembering things? Was it this human's influence? He threw his hand and threw more attacks.

"Papyrus!" the human tried again. "Please.. I don't want to fight you!"

 _Human is sparing you._

...

...

/::/

...

...

 _Oh dear._

Papyrus couldn't even beat someone as pathetic and as weak as this human. He was a pacifist, even Papyrus could sense that, and a young child at that.

Bones retracted into the ground, and the blue aura released its grip on the human's soul, allowing him to relax.

Then suddenly- "Let's be friends."

Papyrus gave the human a bewildered look, then smiled. "Friends? Oh goodie, we're going to need to hang out sometime! Just like I do with my friends!"

To his absolutely-not surprise, the human nodded their head. "Okay. Let's hang out."

And so Papyrus took the human to his house. It seemed fitting, since he always invited his friends over (he only got to say 'friends' because Undyne and Alphys counted as two people, therefore making it plural. Flowey always refused to enter his house for some reason).

"This is such a cool house!" said the human, and happiness exploded in Papyrus' chest.

"It is!" he agreed.

The human boy walked around, looking at each detail. He suddenly furrowed his brow. "Aren't you going to ask me what humans live like?"

Papyrus swatted his hand. "Oh, I already know what you guys live like. You guys live like us."

The boy gave him a questioning glare. "How do you know that?"

Papyrus caught himself right before he blurted out; _Tess told me_. He hesitated, and stared off deep into his mind.

"How old are you?" he asked instead.

"Thirteen," replied the human boy. "I was born on the nineteenth of December."

 _That date..._

A nasty jolt of horrified memory went down Papyrus' spinal chord. That date held a special place deep in his soul. The last day he ever saw Tess alive. He didn't want to think about it. What a horrible question.

"Do you... want to up to my room?" He asked quickly, changing the subject swiftly. "And begin hanging out?"

To his great relief, the human boy nodded his head.

* * *

It was very dark. The cloaked River Person stroked its steed's head, thought it did not purr like it used to do. It was this way for thirteen years now, that its steed did not make any noise at all. It did not run across the currents anymore, just swam slowly like a tired duck. And with its tail thoroughly amputated, there was no going back.

If the River Person could get its bony fingers on Lionheart when he was still alive, it would've torn him apart.

"Hello?"

The tiny voice caused the River Person to raise its head to look where the voice had come from. A crooked smile stretched on its face (though no-one would ever see it) and its bony hand reached out towards the tiny creature. Some people said that it were a skeleton- but those ignorant people didn't see the thin black layer of skin with no fat or muscle beneath.

"Tra-la-la~" it sung cheerfully, greeting the newcomer with a bow of the head. "I am the River-Man. Or am I the River-Woman? It doesn't really matter..."

It stepped away from its precious steed and exaggerated looking down at the small boy that had come. "A human...? So another had fallen down? How... exciting..."

The human boy gulped audibly. "Hello..." he said again nervously. It caused the River Person to chuckle.

"Hello indeed," the River Person agreed. "It is a beautiful day to say hello."

It was fortunate to see the human relax, though it wasn't a lot, just a little bit. The River Person's smile widened. Thank goodness this human was polite- arrogant people got on its nerves. But then it caught the human staring over its shoulder at Boat. The River Person spun its head around to look back at it.

It seemed content in pretending to be a regular, non-living boat. It stared into the depths of the river through half-closed eyes, though its Rider knew that it did not see anything worth remembering.

"Yesss... Boat has been sad for the past thirteen years..." the River Person answered the human's question before he even asked.

"Your boat's sad?" the human echoed innocently.

The River Person nodded its head. "It loved a human thirteen years ago," it explained. "And the human died. Now it is sad."

Empathy and pity flowed over the human's face. The River Person stepped aside. "By all means, human, go pet it. It loves humans."

The human boy skeptically approached the sad Boat. He reached out his hands, and Boat growled in warning. "Shh, I don't want to hurt you. I'm human, see?" Boat continued to growl. The human looked behind for comfort, and the River Person egged him on.

"It won't cry for monsters," it explained quietly. "And Boat needs to cry to feel better. Everyone needs to cry once in a while."

It stood back and watched the human approach the steed again, speaking softly and quietly. No matter how much Boat had snarled and growled, the human was determined.

Determination, last time the River Person had seen one of those was on the surface. Soul traits ran in family, that only a few monsters still remembered. It was so long since they had contact with humans.

Eventually Boat calmed down, and pressed its wooden head against the human's chest, and began to cry precious salt tears as it did over Patience at her funeral. Yet now it had a new human to cry for, one that comforted it just like Patience used to do.

Suddenly the River Person raised its head. The echo of their signature call drifted through the tunnel.

"We'll be going on our way now," River Person announced, throwing itself onto Boat's back. Boat roared in triumph, before they both dived below the surface and left the human on the riverbank.

* * *

Undyne stood silently on the most western cliff in Waterfall. It was not far from the snowlands- easily accessible to those who knew the marshlands like the backs of their own hands. Her helmet was pulled over her head, as she always wore it with the rest of her gigantic black-metalled armour.

She stood so still anyone who was passing below would never know she was even there- waiting, listening.

Papyrus' voice came from the darkness, and Undyne turned her head to look at him. Shadows danced across his bones, yet his eyes seemed to glow. Was that nervousness on his face? Why should he be nervous?

"H... Hi Undyne, I'm here with my daily report..." he began.

Undyne cut him off straight away. "You know you don't have to say 'I'm here with my daily report' every time you see me. You're too good to talk to me that formal way."

However Papyrus didn't seem to be comforted much. He was shaking in his boots, and Undyne began to get worried.

"Regarding that human," Papyrus began, but once again Undyne cut him off.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" she asked at once. "They're not genocidal are they?" Her eyes scanned her best friend for any sign of wounds or hp loss, however found none, and Papyrus was shaking his head. "Did you fight them?"

"Yes! Of course I did! I fought them valiantly!" He stuck his fist over where his heart should be. His voice cracked in nervousness again, and Undyne began to wonder what this human was like if it left Papyrus this shaken.

"Did you capture them?" she asked calmly, remembering suddenly why Papyrus got to see this human before she did. In hindsight it was a dangerous and horrible idea, to send Papyrus out to face a human alone. He could've been killed!

And now Papyrus was stuttering. He nodded, then shook, then nodded his head again until he finally admitted. "No. I tried very hard-" he added desperately "But in the end, I failed."

Undyne sighed. She should've known Papyrus wouldn't be able to capture a human by himself. She knew him better than anyone ever could- she'd seen him fight to his full potential. But why had that been? He had fought because someone had threatened his two self-adopted sisters. Nothing threatening was happening now, was it?

"I'm going to take the human's soul myself," she announced.

At that Papyrus started to fidget with his scarf again, taking steps towards her. "But Undyne, you don't have to destroy them, you see..."

Undyne clenched her fist, and Papyrus backed off instantly.

"Don't you see?" she said painfully. "I have to take the human's soul. It is the only way us monsters can be free! Think of it Papyrus! We can see the sky, the ocean, everything that's on the wonderful surface! Besides, I've got a promise to keep." Her mind wandered back to the patchwork jacket hung in her closet at home.

Papyrus sighed. "I understand. I'll help you in any way I can." And with that he turned and walked away.

Out of the corner of her eye Undyne detected movement, below the cliff in the long grass. She stepped up to the edge, kneeling on one knee. There, between the grass, she saw a small living thing, staring back up at her. He looked terrified and... humanoid. A glowing blue spear appeared in her hand, and she aimed it like a javelin at the boy. However standing right behind him there was another child, a yellow monster about the same age. Huh, must be two monster children sneaking out of Snowdin to explore the Waterfall.

Less monster children did that nowadays, instead choosing to stay home and do whatever- Undyne didn't know. Back in her day children from the snowlands would explore the Waterfall, and the children of Waterfall would sneak out into Snowdin. It made her feel incredibly old.

But at least those kids had some decency. The spear shimmered out of existence, and Undyne backed away into the darkness.

...

...

/::/

...

...

Undyne crept silently behind the clueless human. That kid from before- it was a human after all. She knew a human when she saw one. It was heading straight for her trap.

Finally the human reached it, and her own voice sang out of the single echoflower.

 _Behind you._

The human spun round, and froze when his eyes set upon Undyne.

She took harsh steps towards him, and began to speak.

"Seven. Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king, King Asgore Dreemurr will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier and set us all free from this prison we have lived so long inside. Understand, human?"

The little human gave a subtle, scared nod.

"This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul... or I'll tare it from your body."

 _You'll feel no remorse if you kill a person you never knew._

Flowey was right. Now all Undyne could feel was rage. Rage that this measly weakling was all that was standing between her and the surface. Between her and her birthright. The surface would be beautiful, she and Papyrus and Alphys would be the first to see it. A glowing blue spear appeared between her hands, and she pointed it at the human.

"UNDYNE!" Suddenly the yellow armless child burst free from the bushes. It was the same kid she'd seen standing behind the human the first time she saw him. "I'll help you fight!"

A fanboy? Seriously... kids these days. Though it made perfect sense- back when Lionheart was Captain children in school were obsessed over him, wanting to be just like him when they grew up- but that was before the horrible truth came out.

But she couldn't have a kid watch her fight this human.

The yellow Monster Kid looked to the human and said, in a bright an cheery tone; "Yo! You did it! Undyne is _RIGHT_ in front of you! You've got front row seats to her fight!"

He then looked around, confused. "Wait, who's she fighting?"

At that point Undyne had enough. She took the monster child in one hand and pulled him away from the human, who stood still and shell-shocked. She needed to have a little talk with this monster kid.

"H-Hey! You aren't going to tell me parents about this, are you?"

...

...

/::/

...

...

The monster kid did not listen to her order, to stay away from the human. Now look at what had happened. The monster kid was hanging off the bridge, gripping the side of the wood desperately with his teeth.

Yet what Undyne did not expect was the human to dart forward and help the little monster kid back up.

She backed off slightly, still silent. The monster kid faced her, then crouched protectively in front of the human, who still looked terrified. "Y... Yo... dude..." he stammered. "If... If y-you wanna hurt my friend, you're gonna have to get through me, first!"

And suddenly the dark abyss around was gone, as were the bridge and rocks around, replaced by a sullen snowland. Suddenly the yellow armless dinosaur transformed into a deep blue Sea Wraith, baring the same expression of courage and protectiveness, and the human behind had long dark brown hair and silver eyes.

Undyne backed off instantly, the vision vanishing from her eyes as she turned and speed-walked away.

...

...

/::/

...

...

Undyne stood on the highest rock, overlooking the underground. In the distance she could see Hotland and the structures of the CORE. She could hear the human below, so she once again began to speak.

"Seven. Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six-" she grimaced, knowing full well the human could not see her face behind her helmet. "That's how many we have collected thus far. Don't you understand? Through your seventh and final soul, we will be free from out prison. First however, as is customary for those who make it this far I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people. It all started, long ago..."

Undyne paused, thinking about what she should say. Tess was a storyteller, not she, and she didn't like how her own voice sounded. And besides, why should she?

"No, you know what? SCREW IT!" She shouted. "WHY SHOULD I TELL YOU THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?"

Her helmet winked out of existence, exposing her face to the cool underground air. Her single golden eye twinkled with rage as she stared the human down. Her red hair flowed in the wind like scarlet smoke, and she pointed a finger at her target.

"YOU! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys' history books made me think humans were cool. But you? You're just a coward!" _You're nothing like Tess!_ "Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again! You know what would be more valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD! That's right human! You'r continued existence is a crime! Your life is all that stands between us and our freedom!" She struck her fist over her heart. "Right now, I can feel everyone's heart pounding together! Everyone's been waiting their whole lives for this moment! But we're not nervous at all! When everyone puts their hearts together, they can't lose! Now, human! Let's end this, right here, right now!"

...

...

/::/

...

...

The rage that Undyne felt when she saw the human in her doorway at Papyrus' side was indescribable. It was partly for Papyrus, but most of it was for the small human standing awkwardly next to him. She gnashed her teeth, screaming internally. _How dare you stand where she stood!?_

"Whoopsy doopsy! I just remembered! I've got to go to the bathroom! Have fun you two!" With that he busted out of the window.

Undyne's attention shifted onto the human. "So, why are YOU here?" She pulled back her lips to show her sharp teeth, her claws unsheathing from her fingers. This was a sight she never wanted to see. A human standing in her house, just like Tess had done. Hatred for this human welled up in her throat, her fins flattening against her head.

"I... I want to be friends with you..." the child mumbled.

"BY GOLLY! I ACCEPT!" Undyne yowled at him sarcastically. "Let's all frolic around in the fields of friendship! NOT!" Her fingertips crackled with power, barely being held back. "Why would I ever be friends with _you_? GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

The human boy shook his head. "Listen Undyne, I-"

"You use my name now?" snapped the fish, taking a harsh step towards him. "Only a few people are allowed to address me by my name, and you're not one of them!"

The boy flinched. "Sorry. No hard feelings, but I really need to get home. My family's probably very worried about me."

Undyne didn't want to hear it. It was too familiar and it felt so wrong coming out of this human's mouth. "I said; get. Out. Of. My. House!"

The human flinched again. "Please! Listen to me! I never want to hurt anyone! I just need to get home to my mum and dad!"

 _I need to get back to my older brother._

Undyne stopped growling, but it was only for a moment. Stop trying to replace her, she cursed him in her mind. "And what," she spat "am I to do about that? The only way the barrier could ever be broken was by your soul's help. And now what? You expect us to kill some other human? Or are you going to take a monster soul and cross the barrier yourself?"

"I would never hurt anything!" the human cried. "I don't want to hurt anybody! I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Undyne hissed lowly. "You can't hurt me, human, no matter how much you try. Now tell me, why did you come back here?"

"I want to start over with you," said the human. "I know we haven't gotten off to a good start, but Papyrus and everyone else always speak so highly of you, how good you are a person, how heroic and brave. I... never knew a person like that."

Heroic? Brave? Undyne's claws slid back into their sheathes. She began to straighten.

"I'm sorry if I ever offended you or anything," the human apologised quickly. "I want to be friends with you."

"I will never be your friend." Undyne barked. "Get out!"

"Oh dear," Papyrus said, poking his head through the broken window. "Looks like I overestimated Undyne. I thought she could be your friend. It seems she just isn't up to the challenge." He darted away before Undyne could even roar at him.

Challenge? So this human's friendship was a challenge? Undyne looked back at the confused human, and he shrugged his shoulders. "What a challenge. I can make friends with a wimpy human like you any day. Why don't you take a seat?" she asked with a shark's smile.

And before long, the human and the Sea Wraith were talking. "It's weird how you chose that tea," Undyne pointed out. "It's her favourite." She looked at the human with pity. "You know, you remind me a lot of her." She shook her head. "Is the surface still a very nice place?"

The human nodded his head, though he clearly did not know who 'she' was. "Of course! There's two towns around the mountain, and then there's the Onett city which is only a few minutes drive from where I live! And then there's the ocean, which I love to visit all the time."

"I've heard a lot about the ocean," Undyne mused. "Apparently it's so big it never runs out, and it's full of salt too."

"That's true!" the human agreed, nodding his head vigorously. "Have you ever seen the ocean Undyne?"

Undyne shook her head. "I've only heard things about it. How does the night sky look? My best friend loves the night sky."

The human's eyes brightened upon the mention. "There's a story about the stars my dad once told me. The moon's the star's caretaker, and whenever someone was distressed on earth it would send down a star to grant a wish, but the stars didn't want to grant wishes so they stay on earth disguised as different animals."

"I love that story!" Undyne exclaimed happily. "Are there mangas of it?"

The human stopped. "What do you mean 'mangas'? It's just a story passed down through generations." He shook his head. "I never knew you liked manga. Which one's your favourite?"

* * *

Undyne's heart had opened once more. This human would never replace Tess, never, but who said that she needed a replacement? Another friend, that was what the human boy was. He had gotten onto Alphys' and Papyrus' good sides, that only gave him bonus points.

One moment they were all there, convincing the boy to stay down with them- the next they were all lifted up into the air by a huge thorny and familiar vine.

The sight of Flowey made Undyne's stomach drop straight to her feet. What a double-faced, slimy, traitorous asshole! She struggled against his vines, though the flower seemed to have learned his lesson and made them so tight they seemed to suck the breath out of her lungs. It was lucky she had her gills as a back-up, but what about the others? The king and his long-lost queen- which Undyne genuinely did not know existed (since she had fled before Undyne was old enough to remember things). What about Alphys? She wasn't going to be alright! Panic was beginning overflow her rational thought.

But nothing hurt more than the realisation that her long-time flower friend- the same plant that had tried to protect them from Lionheart and chose to share all his secrets with- was such a murderous psychopath himself. She had been _friends_ with this creature- this soulless, moral-less beast.

And he had the human boy trapped, and that was the most terrified Undyne had ever seen him. And suddenly he looked like Tess all over again.

And Flowey was about to kill him.

His attack whipped out towards the human- yet it was burned to a crisp. The Queen had protected the human. Again Flowey made to attack the human- yet this time Undyne was ready. Her magic flared, and her biggest spear lodged itself into the ground at the human's left, parrying the bullets, while a huge bone protected his right. Papyrus...

"That's right human!" Papyrus called out, his voice loud like it always was. "Just do what I would do! Believe in you!"

Undyne began to shout too. "Hey! You got past me! That means you'll beat anyone! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

Suddenly the whole room seemed alive with voices. More and more monsters flooded in, shouting in unison.

"We're all with you!"

"Come on, you got this human!"

"Keep trying!"

"I know that you can do it!"

"This guy has nothing!"

"We are all here!"

"Don't worry, we've got your back!"

"Just stay determined!"

"Don't give up!"

And everything went white.

* * *

The Barrier was destroyed. News spread across the underground like wildfire, and it was like a ember of hope had lightened inside each monster soul.

Everyone's hearts were beating as one, hoping together, now that the Barrier was gone that everything would be alright.

She had returned home- one that would not be her home any longer, to pick up her essentials. It was just the very few things that she needed for the great return of monsterkind to the surface.

She couldn't believe it, finally they could see the surface, after all this time. It was so surreal, and Undyne was convinced that she was living in a dream.

Never before had she thought that she would ever miss the crappy Northern Neighbourhood, though it made sense to her. She had rather stay here than go live with her mother in New Home.

"Undyne darling!" Mettaton called her name upon her return. She never thought she would get used to his metallic android body- though the pink was totally his style. "You're finally here. Are you here to make sure you look extra-great for our big day?"

Undyne dipper head. "How's Blook?"

The robot pointed behind him with a thumb. "He's fine. I'm gonna be helping him become the No. 1 DJ in the human charts."

"For such a self-centred prick, that's some sound character development," Undyne jabbed, and ducked to avoid the swing of the metallic fist. "Okay, I'll see myself out."

As she stepped into the house, she realised how much she was going to miss this place. Of course she was still going to come back here for her furniture so she could move to the surface- but this place would always hold a place very dear to her heart.

What should she take? Important things... Undyne opened her closet and stared. She should wear something nice... shouldn't she? She reached out towards the clean blouse she usually wore for nice occasions, however her eyes darted towards the patchwork jacket.

Tess should've been by her side for this moment. It seemed wrong that she wasn't here. The human boy couldn't fill the void she left behind- nobody ever could. Sighing, Undyne threw the jacket on, stuffing the hands into her pockets. The MP3 was still safe in the pocket, and Undyne breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

The surface world was better than Undyne had ever imagined it. She stood there, Alphys' hands cradled in hers. Land stretched out as far as eye could see, and the wind was so fresh, tugging at her scarlet hair so it blew sideways. The sun was rising, its reflection shimmering across a massive body of water that went on for miles...

That must be the ocean!

"You look so happy," Alphys mentioned, looking up at her. Undyne looked down, and smiled sincerely.

"I wanted to see this for so long," she replied, looking back at the view. There were so much here, and not even Tess' stories could've prepared her for this. _This_ is what she had been missing. _This_ is where Tess had come from.

Here was paradise- the trees greener, the air fresher, the space bigger. She inhaled through her mouth, and then through her gills, and through her mouth again- unable to decide which one tasted better.

"What's that!?" Papyrus questioned loudly, pointing at horizon, where the light was getting brighter and brighter until it was painful to look at. The sky around turned red, and it was perhaps the most colourful sky Undyne had ever seen- it was much better than the regular black, rocky sky.

"We call that the sun, my friend," Sans replied helpfully.

It was the happiest Undyne had seen Papyrus in a while, which was actually saying something. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting the sun!" he exclaimed, his eyes full of emotion. Looked like he had caught tears in his eyes again.

Undyne breathed in again. It was so nice.

"It seems that everyone is quite eager to set off," the Queen spoke at last. She turned to the small human child. "You came from this world, right my child?"

He nodded his head proudly. Undyne could feel his pride glowing from him- who wouldn't be proud of a place like this?

The Queen continued. "So you must have a place to return to, do you not?"

Once again the boy nodded his head. "My dad and my mum are going to be so worried sick about me. Especially my dad, he always worries that I'll go missing. But that's not the point, I'm going to have a younger sibling in a few months time!"

"Congratulations to your mother!" said the Queen, though her eyes flickered towards her old ex. Geez, that was a bitty harsh- the hurt could be easily seen on the King's face. "Do you know if it'll be a boy or a girl?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "To early to tell. I didn't want to miss having a sibling. You should all come over to mine some time, since you let me come round to yours."

"Give and take, that's what a healthy relationship is!" Papyrus announced proudly.

Yet the Queen still had more questions. "But I must ask; what is your name?"

"Oh! I totally forgot about that!" exclaimed the human. "My name is Frisk. Frisk Ashby."

" _What did you just say!?_ "

Undyne was suddenly in front of the human, her fists curled against the front of his sweater, staring right into his face.

"Undyne!" Alphys gasped in shock, and the Queen got ready to defend her newfound baby. There was only one person that did not take action- Papyrus.

"Tell me human," Undyne demanded, her pupil widening into convex. "Who is your father?"

"M-My father?" Frisk stammered, but he realised that Undyne was desperate.

She tightened her hold on him. "What's your father's name!?"

"B-Ben Ashby..." answered Frisk.

Undyne let him go instantly, her webbed hand covering her mouth in disbelief. She looked desperately towards Papyrus. He met her eyes, and they shared a short unspeakable connection before they both stared back at Frisk.

"What's going on?" the Queen demanded, speaking for all the other monsters. "Have you got something you want to tell us?"

Her tone reminded Undyne of her old teachers', and she did not like it at all. However yes, she did have something she wanted to tell everyone.

"I have a promise to keep," she explained simply. "When can Papyrus and I meet your father?"

* * *

Frisk turned to out live on the outskirts of one of the towns at the base of Mt. Ebbot. The neighbourhood was like nothing Undyne had ever seen, yet resembled strikingly the Northern Neighbourhood down in the underground. Every house was different, each surrounded completely by massive fenced gardens. Dogs barked, cats walked on fences, humans turned their heads to see the small group of monsters walk through the village.

It had been a week since the Barrier had been broken, of faithful hoping as the King spoke with the human leader. And now, finally, it had been decreed that the monsters would resume their life on the surface along humanity.

Frisk offered them a place to stay before anybody properly settled, he assured them all that his house would definitely be able to hold them all. Undyne, Alphys, Sans and the two Boss Monsters. The rest of the monsters had began to roam all over the surface, finding their own places in this new world.

Frisk lead them to a painted-yellow house, numbered 52, and opened the gate. It shined in the light like gold, welcoming and hopeful, and in Undyne's eyes; perfect. He opened the door and yelled loudly; "I'm home!"

A woman came running from the depths of the corridor, and threw herself onto Frisk, trapping him in a tight embrace. She had the same colour of hair as he did, except it spilled over her shoulders and dragged across the ground. Her clothes reminded Undyne of the stereotypical stay-at-home mother, not that it was a bad thing, and the woman had a small bump on her belly. _Right... expecting._

It did not take a genius to realise that Frisk took his looks from his mother. All except one thing. The woman had a shining pink soul, which Undyne's monster instinct distinguished as the Laughter trait.

"Frisk I've been so worried! Where have you been!?"

"It's a long story mum," Frisk explained briefly. "But I've brought home some friends, I've already told them they can stay over for the night. They're really like to meet you."

The woman raised her head, and her eyes fell upon the monsters. Her expression said it all.

"You must be Frisk's mother," the Queen addressed her friendlily and with a bright (yet somehow sour) smile. "I must say m- your child has done many great things."

The woman was speechless, though only for a moment. She stood up to her feet, and just then did Undyne realise that she could look straight on into her eyes. They were the same height. "So Frisk set free an entire civilisation," she mused out loud, though returned the Queen's warm greeting. "I'm sure _my_ son has quite a story to tell, but of course you're all welcome to stay as long as you wish."

"We'll talk about this later young man," she added quietly to her son.

A weird clucking sound made the monsters jump. Eight birds were pecking at the ground, ruffling their feathers and crowing softly to each other. What were those things!? Nobody seemed to know, except Alphys. She squealed suddenly in excitement, smiling stupidly at the creatures.

"I remember these!" she gasped. "My family used to have them when they still lived on the surface! What are they called again?"

"Those are chickens," Frisk's mum offered helpfully. "They're really friendly."

At hearing the word 'friendly', Papyrus ran at the chickens, announcing loudly that he wanted to be their friend- except the chickens took flight in a flutter of wings and faster, louder clucking. This caused everyone to laugh.

The inside of Frisk's house was huge, yet not much different to what monsters were used to. The walls were pale, making the rooms seem bigger than they actually were, wallpaper were patterned with designs that made Undyne instantly think of the walls in the hermit's house. Home...

The kitchen was unlike her own, with a low ceiling and table in the centre. There was everything Undyne recognised from her own kitchen; the cookers, the fridge, the cabinets. So it was all true- humans weren't that different from monsters after all. The table was one of those fancy-new ones that flipped open to allow more people to dine at once. The King and Queen sat reluctantly next to each other, without so much as sharing a glance at one another. Oh dear- Undyne hoped they would work it out. Asgore deserved love- more than anybody she ever knew.

Sans took his place next to his brother, who sat next to Alphys and Undyne. And Frisk sat beside the King. It would be fitting, since Frisk had indadvertedly become the ambassador for monsterkind towards humans. And there were two free seats. One for the mother, one for the father.

While Frisk began to tell them all about how chickens and how their eggs were the best (Alphys took the most part in the conversation, suddenly very determined to have her own chickens when she got a house on the surface. Undyne would have to learn to cope with the birds, since it looked like they were going to be living together from now on), Toriel had began to speak with Celine- as Frisk's mother turned out to be named, asking her all sorts of questions about children on the surface, how her pregnancy was going along. It was the start of a brilliant friendship, and Undyne couldn't help but smile.

Then suddenly-

"Celine! I'm home!"

Undyne's head shot up to attention. She felt as if she'd heard that voice a million times- even though she knew she hadn't. It was so familiar though.

Celine broke off her conversation with Toriel to call back; "In here dear! We have some guests!" Her voice was so bright, so cheerful to hear of her significant other, just like Alphys' was when she talked to Undyne.

Heads turned towards the doorway, and Frisk's face lit up. "Dad!"

Undyne never felt as if she knew a stranger so well as this man. Her eyes locked onto him, unable to look away.

He was taller than Undyne was, very well built and dressed in comfy, muddy clothes and huge boots. He had the same face, same silver eyes as Tess did. His dark brown hair was ragged and spiky like a lot of Undyne's favourite anime characters.

He did not even seemed surprised to see the many monsters sitting around the table in his house. All he did was shrug his shoulders with a quick; "Hey" and he went over to his wife to give her a peck on the cheek. "Hey dear," he greeted. "What's for lunch?"

"Oh! I'm preparing onion soup," Celine replied with a giggle and a slight blush. It caused Frisk to sigh loudly and roll his eyes.

Undyne thought it was wonderful. She could so imagine Asgore and Toriel being like this, or perhaps her and Alphys...?

"Frisk, am I right to assume that you're behind the monsters' freedom?" Ben asked calmly.

Frisk began fidgeting with his hands. "...Yes. You aren't mad at me are you?"

"Why would I be?" Ben sat down beside his son. "And these are your new friends? Go on! Introduce yourselves!"

 _Welcoming, bright, happy..._

Toriel and Asgore were of course the first to speak. Maybe it was a parent thing? Undyne's finned ear flicked in confusion, though she found that she couldn't draw her eye away from Ben.

She only came back to reality when Papyrus loudly announced- "Oh yeah! Undyne wanted to speak with you."

All heads turned, and Undyne found herself in the spotlight. Her golden eye met silver eyes once more, and a shiver went through her.

"You must be Undyne then," said Ben with a smile. "You want to speak with me?"

The words wouldn't come. For the first time in her life, nervousness took over her mind. So instead she slipped a hand into her pocket, taking out the busted MP3 player and offered it to him. Ben's smile dropped instantly.

"Where did you get that?" he whispered, looking from the MP3 to Undyne and back again. "And you're wearing her jacket..." He put two-and-two together. "You know Tess!?" His face lit up in hope. "You know my sister?"

Undyne could only nod her head, retracting her hand. She was secretly glad that Ben didn't take the MP3; she didn't think she was ready to part with it.

"That's great!" Celine cheered as she placed a plate in front of each character. "That means she got away from your terrible father, doesn't it? Poor dear."

Undyne flinched.

"Do you know where she is?" Ben demanded. "I have to apologise! Geez-" he pressed his palm to his forehead. "I left her behind in that hell with that devil!" He looked up at Undyne desperately. "Please, tell me she's somewhere here."

Undyne shook her head sadly. "Tess is dead. I'm sorry."

The whole house went deathly silent.

After a while, Ben spoke again. "Can you tell me how she died?"

Undyne took a deep breath. "I want to tell the whole story," she said. "I want to get everything off my chest."

* * *

"I want to tell the whole story," said Undyne. "I want to get everything off my chest."

The creature staring through the window smiled. She drew her glowing blue hand across the glass pale separating her from her old friends. Finally... the best ending.

She could stay here and stare for hours, smiling like an idiot. Yet she couldn't. So she turned her head away from the window to look at the group behind her.

Six figures stood there before her, all in varying heights and shapes, yet each was human; or at least used to be. Five of those figures were silhouettes, filled in with glowing arteries that held a colourful beating heart in the very centre. Each had some sort of fatal wound, which leaked white mist that evaporated shortly after it touched the outside air. Cuts at the side of the head, slit throats and other horrifying scars that still bled.

The sixth figure was a short child unlike the others, with more colour than any of the spirits present. They were transparent, not like the soul-creatures, that anyone could see right through them. Yet their scarlet eyes were more alive than ever. They seemed so out of place next to the soul-creatures, yet they were more at home there than anywhere.

And it was that ghastly spirit that spoke first. "They're happy, all of them," they said, taking a few steps forward. The chickens took off in a flurry.

Patience willingly took Chara's hand, finally able to touch it physically. They were so much smaller than her now.

Kindness pointed up towards the sky. "It's getting dark," she announced. True, there it was. The sun had set below the horizon, lighting up the clouds with a bright magenta light against the darkening blue sky. If anyone had ever painted a sky with this beauty, nobody would believe it was real. Yet here it was, the heavens in all their magnificence and glory. The stars were coming out, beginning to shine like dozens of nightlights.

"Well done, it's not like we didn't notice this ourselves," Bravery mumbled furiously.

Justice proceeded to hit him in the back of his head with an open-handed slap. "Learn some respect, rat! Or do I need to remind you that you were the _only_ one of us that was genocidal!?"

And Justice was not wrong. Out of the seven spirits present, Bravery was the only one that deserved to die. The first soul after Chara to fall down into the Underground and set the violence of humanity fresh into the monsters' minds and caused every monster to be hostile to a known human from there on out. And even now Bravery was met with a set of dirty glares every time he spoke. Even Kindness and Patience narrowed their eyes at the orange soul-creature, and Bravery fell silent.

"Anyways," Integrity changed the subject swiftly. She looked to the little purple boy next to her fondly. "I think we ought to go. Don't you think?" Perseverance pressed his head into her palm in agreement, squealing in excitement. Little Perseverance was the youngest when he died, and it was difficult not to grown to love with him.

Patience offered her other free hand to little Perseverance, who filled the holes between her fingers. It almost hurt to see the leaking wound directly over his heart. And Perseverance took Integrity's hand while Chara offered theirs to Justice, the eldest and the other adult besides Patience.

The spirits all linked hands, and their feet left the ground. Higher and higher they floated, so high that the people walking around in the streets of the town looked like ants and the houses became building blocks. And still they all floated higher, through the clouds and out of the atmosphere.

If anyone had been watching from the surface, they would've noticed seven new stars that had began to shine in the sky, significantly brighter than the rest.

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

Woo! What a ride! Another finished fanfiction. And before its one year old! Time flies by, doesn't it? It was a wild ride, and I'll miss writing this story. All good things must come to an end, eh? And now I'd like to personally give out my thanks.

To Toby Fox, the wonderful creator of Undertale. I think he deserves a thanks from all of us for creating our beloved game.

To Thedyingjokepastaway. I know I've thanked you before man, but I can't thank you enough.

To dream1990, katmar1994, Greta the Troll, JaedDragon777, Potato, Anon, undyingrage98489, Owo, ponystoriesandothers and HamiltonFan99999 for taking their time to review this story, to point out my mistakes and to encourage me to keep writing.

And to you, reading this right now. You made it to the very end of this story, when you didn't have to. The biggest thanks goes to you.

May the winds that blow in your sails be strong

-Phouka Dragon11-


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